Give into Me
by aca-anonymous
Summary: Ever since Beca lost her mother, she shut up her emotions in jar and stowed them away. After her father forces her to go to college, she meets Chloe Beale who is the exact opposite of what she is. She's the type of person Beca had avoided or hated her entire life. As the story unfolds, will Beca snub her rising emotions for Chloe? Or will she give into her? Main Pairing: [Bechloe]
1. Carry On My Wayward Son

**AN: Hello. This is my very first and possibly only fanfiction. I've never ever read a fanfiction so I don't know how this works but yes anyway. I'm doing this story because my best friend asked me to after she read an english essay I wrote(begged really :P). This is her favourite pairing and I've only watched the movie once so if I get the characters wrong, I apologize in advance. Hope you like the story. :). It's most probably going to be long perhaps 15 to 20 chapters I'm not sure yet. I'll try to post new chapters everyday or at least after a week. No longer than that I promise. :)**

**P.S. The story is going to start of the same but it's going to be very different from the movie. Enjoy Bechloe with some Jesbrey too :)**

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I got it. Thanks." Beca slung her laptop bag over her shoulder and looked at the Barden University employee gratefully. He unloaded the rest of her bags from the taxi trunk and rolled them away. This is it. She sighed and looked around at the hustle and bustle of the campus. Her grey waistcoat, red shirt and dark jeans did not exactly blend with people on campus that were walking past her. And there were a lot of people There were people coming and going into every possible direction. Aside from people, there was that giant building that looked like Hogwarts. It had that pristine and sophisticated look she loathed but she'd have to get used to it. She was stuck here.

"HI THERE!" An annoyingly peachy sound interrupted her thoughts. "Welcome to Barden University. What dorm?" The blonde continued with that painful smile plastered on her face throughout the conversation. "Uh," Beca turned her head, raised her brows and backed her head a little, taken by surprise. "Baker Hall I think." She tried to smile in order to hide her discomfort. "Ok. So what you're gonna do is you're going to take a right through the double doors…" She began and Beca sighed. Her voice was irritating her ear drums more than that crappy Miley Cyrus "Party in the USA" song the taxi driver played on repeat the entire way.

"…Lay your weary head to rest! Don't you cry no more no!" The deep voice followed by sudden screech of tires coming to halt, made Beca cock her head in that direction. Inside the silver BMW was one of those super excited, 'My kid got a scholarship' type of couple but it was the person in the backseat that really caught Beca's attention. The boy with the light brown hair, which shimmered with the colour of dry leaves from sun pouring through the car's windscreen, was singing Carry On My Wayward son as if there was not a single person around. He saw Beca staring at him blankly and turned his face in her direction. A sly grin crossed his face as he started playing out an air guitar and singing the notes with the song in the background. Beca's eyes widened and she looked at the brown-eyed boy. He had the kind of face you would probably recognize in a crowd and would have a hard time forgetting. She smiled giving him the 'uh okay then' look before the car rolled away and the inertia of his body knocked him into his backseat.

"Your campus map and your Official BU rape whistle. Don't blow it unless it's actually happening" The squeaky voice came into focus once more and tormented Beca's ears. She looked at her vacantly and grabbed the whistle, holding it in between her teeth. This was going to be torture, she could feel it. She grasped her laptop bag tightly and made her towards the dormitories. It was the only thing that felt familiar and comfortable right now. She imagined what it would be like in LA right now, surrounded by top recording artists and state-of-the-art mixing equipment. The tangy smell of the lacquered wooden recording booth. She took a deep breath, imagining herself taking in that sweet smell. The minute she breathed out, the pesky chirping of birds and the lingering smell of trees filled her once more. If there was something she hated more than people, it was the wonders of Mother Nature. They were happy things and reminded her of how screwed up her life is. Happiness was an emotion that alienated her.

She pushed past the creaky black gate of housing section and casually looked around. Some of the newbies, were hugging their parents who were bursting into a fit of sobs after every other second, while others had decided to find comfort in the truck load of stuffed animals they had brought along. The old students were laying around in the grassy quad lazily. They were already in divided groups. The douche-bag guys were sitting on chairs and rating the newbies that walked past them; the stoners were lying underneath a tree and laughing uncontrollably; the 'honk if you love Jesus' people were eyeing all of them with disgust and finally the super cheery, girls with fabulous everything were walking past them like they didn't exist. Her eyes barely had a chance to adjust to all of this when a flash of red slammed into Beca's shoulder out of nowhere, almost throwing her off-balance.

"Dude!" She gritted her teeth and turned around to look at her attacker but all she saw was a mass of flaming red hair trying to run clumsily with a load books in her arms that was clearly visible from behind. She sighed and continued on her way seeing it wasn't the girls fault. She walked through the double doors of the dormitory building and made a right towards Baker Hall. The bland similar brown doors and the white washed walls in the passageway of Baker Hall made her feel as if she had just walked into a hospital. Reluctantly, she ambled and scanned the numbers on the doors.

"221…221…" She kept repeating and finally spotted the brown door that would be her home for at least 2 years until she could transfer into a single one; which would probably be the same except there would be one bed instead of two. Her other option was pledging a fraternity and living in a frat house but that would require her to socialize and besides, given her personality, nobody would be willing to take her. The third and 'not even if hell freezes over' option was living with her father who taught comparative literature at the university and was forcing her to attend college. She exhaled loudly and pushed open the door. The cramped room with its white washed wall lined with large shelves and the hospital beds on either corner greeted her. The large closet on the immediate right of her was no comfort either since it was almost fully cramped with her roommates clothing; with the exception of one hook and shelf that she had so graciously left for her.

Speaking of roommates, after looking at the room Beca faced the hunched figure on the desk chair who looked at her conspicuously. "Hey um, you must be Kimmy Jin. I'm Beca." She said, trying her best to be polite and welcoming. She had to spend two years with this girl in the same room and awkward tension between them would make this even more agonizing. The Korean girl however, kept her stance and continued to stare at her. "No English?" Beca tried once more but Kimmy Jin furrowed her brows and looked at her as if she was offended. She was definitely offended and Beca quickly remarked. "Yes English!" Upon no response and the deadly stare, Beca sighed. "Just tell me where you're at with English."

Realizing there was no point, Beca gave a slight nod in her direction and slid the bag off her shoulder, placing it beside the bed before slumping down on top of the bed herself. She retrieved her timetable from the pocket of her grey waistcoat and looked at it vacantly. First class, philosophy. Awesome, she thought and rolled her eyes. Her father had chosen the classes with the weirdest names for her. Physiology, Sociology…so many gys', she contemplated. She placed the schedule on the table next to her and got up from the bed. Perhaps unloading her stuff and making another mix might make her feel less tense. She unzipped her bags and started placing her laptop, mixing board, keyboard and headphones on the table behind her bed. Beca caught Kimmy Jin staring at the stuff momentarily and looking at it with a hint of disgust. A faint smirk registered on Beca's face. There was a particular kind of pleasantness in irking people who were disgusted by what she was. It made her feel right about the world; about how it was filled with judgmental people who took one look at her ear spike or her mixing equipment and ruled her off as a jobless, uneducated hippie.

Before she knew it, the rest of the world faded and she was busy making another mix. Making music, creating something unique and unthinkable out of something else, matching the bass lines…it drove a frenzy in her. Her body would pump up with adrenaline and the only thing that would matter was music.

"Hey this is campus police, hide your wine coolers!"

She would have ignored the voice completely if it wasn't so familiar. The door opened and she looked up. Just as she had suspected, her father's head popped out from behind with a goofy grin on his face. "Haha…it's your old man...making a funny" He smiled sheepishly and stepped inside.

"Chris Rock everybody," Beca remarked and rolled her eyes. Her father acted like those words had never left her mouth and proceeded to introduce himself to her roommate. "Hey, you must be Beca's roommate. I'm Dr. Mitchell, Beca's dad, I teach comparative literature here." He piped in a little more nicely than Beca had done. However, he received the same stares and glares from Kimmy Jin.

"Okay then," he looked taken aback by the unpleasantness of her roommate and redirected his attention to Beca. "So, when did you get here? How… did you get here?" He questioned but Beca had already forgotten he was here and returned to her mixing. He coughed slightly and Beca realized she had been asked a question.

"Took a cab. Didn't want to inconvenience you and Sheila." She stated, continuing to do her work. "Speaking of which, how is the stepmonster?" She smirked and busied herself with her laptop. It was clearly a rhetorical question but her father had either failed to notice or was ignoring it.

"She's fine. Thanks for asking. She's actually in Vegas at a con-"He started but Beca cut him short.

"Oh. No dad. I don't actually care. I just wanted to say 'stepmonster.'" She shrugged and looked at her father, who scowled. His face however, relaxed and he began to hopelessly try again.

"So have you been on the quad yet? Its springtime and students study on the gr-." He smiled genuinely and commenced to tell his daughter about the wonders of college but was cut yet again.

"I don't wanna study on the grass, dad. I wanna go to LA and make music. Start paying my dues." She shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well you're getting a college education first. For free I might add. End of story." Her father's tone was stern this time and Beca could see there was no point arguing anymore. All she wanted was for her father to go, so she could lie down and sleep for the next 5 years of her miserable life.

"I'm going to the activities fair." Kimmy Jin interjected. She never thought, the first words out of her roommate's mouth would be so wonderful. She had found her escape.

"Me too." Beca said, slowly backing towards the door. "I'm going to the activities fair with my super close friend Kimmy Jin." She grinned and headed out the door before her father could say a word.

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**AN: The story is pretty much the same right now. Changes start from chapter 2 which will be posted tomorrow hopefully. I go over a lot of details so sometimes the chapters may be overly descriptive (bad habit I know).  
****Oh and I don't own pitch perfect and no hate to Miley Cyrus fans or Jesus it was totally intended as a better visual aid for the story. No disrespect. Please like and review if you like the story. Criticism of all sorts is appreciated. Thank you. :)**


	2. Sing Till You Drop

**AN: Thank you for all those views and PMs. I'm glad you all like the story :) This entire chapter is based on my version of how things went at the activities fair. I'm sorry if it looks like I'm dragging out the story all I can say is, it might be worth the wait. :)**

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If she thought studying on the quad was bad, the activities fair was worse. There was a huge crowd of people at every booth. The older students were gathering around trying to woo in the newbies to join them. There were the average frat boys shouting out their slogans in order to attract pledgers, the nerds with their clever booths of Hogwarts or LOTR, the recreations people showing off their flexibility and abs and then there were the singers. Beca had although 'gone with her super-close friend Kimmy Jin' to the fair, her roommate had disappeared the minute they entered the crowd. She spotted Kimmy Jin at the Korean Association stall whose subtitle was 'Korean or GTFO'. Talk about racism, she shook her head and casually began walking through the crowd, hoping to find somewhere she can fit in.

A frat girl stepped in front of her and smiled so hard that Beca could see all 32 of her pearly whites, from the incisors to the molars. "Hi there! Phi Theta Kappa is an international honor society that provides members with many opportunities and I personally feel that all new students should strive to reach the academic standards to gain acceptance into this organization. If you have a 4.0 GPA you can join our sisterhood right now." She tilted her head and the smile never left her face. For a second, Beca thought she was looking at the live version of the 'Overly Attached Girlfriend" meme.

"Do I look like I have a 4.0 GPA?" The brunette raised her brow and smirked at the girl who looked baffled.

"Excuse me, alt girl. I was talking to her," she threw her head to the other side and flipped her hair then pointed at a barbie girl who was standing beside Beca the entire time.

"Ok then. Does she look like she has a 4.0 GPA?" Beca laughed shaking her head and pushed past the two idiots. Her eyes followed along the booth signs as she hoped she would find something worthwhile. She caught the sign 'Barden DJ's' and paced towards it. At last, someplace she could be comfortable. However, the sight before her crushed the jumpy feeling she had. DJ's was apparently an abbreviation for "Deaf Jews".

"Shalom!" The guy behind the booth greeted her pleasantly and the short girl simply smiled.

"That's not a real word but keep tryin'. You will get there." It was hard not to laugh after hearing that. Beca tilted her head towards the right and saw a rather over-weight girl, with "I don't give a shit" attitude. The heavier girl looked the short, brown haired, alt girl up and down and then flashed a toothy grin at her.

"Not a lot of Jewish people, where you're from?" Beca said stifling her laughter.

"Uh. No I did do Fiddler on the Roof, though. In high school." She leaned against the booth table and nodded. "It was, like, me and some Aboriginals. It was really Jewish."

_Okay, _Beca thought and shook her head, grinning goofily. There was a possibility she had found someone she could get along. She wasn't exactly a mute when it came to talking to people, she just considered it was best to avoid them. Especially those bubbly cheery girls. This girl however had a sense of humour and if she were Beca's friend, the 5 years won't be so horrid.

"I'm Beca. What's your name?" The honey-eyed girl extended her hand politely trying to seem courteous.

"Fat Amy." She chimed in looking at Beca's hand weirdly. "Do you want to shake hands? In Tasmania we fist bump people in the face if we like them but that's how we have a lot of toothless people in Tasmania."

"Ok no hands. You call yourself Fat Amy?" Beca retracted her hand and could barely control the fit of hysteric laughter that was threatening to erupt.

"Yeah so skinny bitches like you don't do it behind my back." Fat Amy stated as a matter-of-fact.

If Beca wasn't laughing so hard, she would have been offended. "Alright then _Fat _Amy it is." She snickered.

"So since we're like super close friends now, will you come check out this booth with me?" Fat Amy looked at her excitedly and already began dragging her by the arm. Fat Amy bulldozed through the crowd while Beca clutched her arm, clinging for her dear life.

"This is so beautiful I'm gonna cry." Fat Amy squealed coming to a halt and Beca tried to catch breath.

"What…huh?" Beca bent forth and grabbed her knees then lifted her head staring at the banner above the booth, 'Sing till You Drop'.

"Sing till you Drop is the coolest thing ever. A pair of singers compete for the trophy and a possible record deal in the collegiate Sing Till You Drop competition. The boy duo from Treblemakers of Bumper and Donald wins every time. But not this year. I'm going to finish them both like a cheesecake." Fat Amy ogled at the booth as she told the shorter girl all this in a breath.

"If you want to win, then audition for the Bella's." The animated voice seemed to emitting from underneath the booth table. Both, Beca and Fat Amy leaned forward and tried to look behind.

"OW!" The table bumped up a little followed by the sound of wincing. After a second of huffing and wincing, a girl stood up from behind the table and looked at them beamingly. The flaming red hair. Beca recognized the girl in an instant and it seemed it wasn't one sided because the girl stared at her for a long time.

"Uhm can your love at first sight wait? I need to sign up and then go to bathroom. I've been holding a bucket-load of pee since I first came on campus." Fat Amy coughed and tapped the table slightly, causing the blue-eyed redhead to jolt back in surprise and look at the other girl who was standing next to Beca.

"I'm so sorry. Hi I'm Chloe. I'm a Bella!" She bubbled with excitement and placed the sign-up sheet in front of Fat Amy.

"I bumped into you today." She uttered and looked at Beca again who was still taken aback by Fat Amy's comment. _What the hell was she talking about? _

"Huh," she refocused and looked at the taller girl who had introduced herself as Chloe. "Oh yeah. You did. I almost fell too." She nodded holding back her smile and trying to look unyielding but the guilty expression on the redhead's face made the smile come on reflexively. "I was joking. It was no biggie. Although I didn't think you noticed considering you were in such a hurry." She shrugged.

"I did." Chloe blurted out and for a second it seemed she regretted her words. "I mean I looked back and saw, um, you. I was going to come back and apologize but you were gone." Her voice was cheery but Beca could see a faint hint of red burning against her pink blush-on.

"Oh." It was all Beca could manage given how awkward the situation was getting.

"Sorry to interrupt again guys," Fat Amy looked at them and her lips twisted into a sly grin, "But I was wondering if you can tell me more about how this works. The auditions and all."

"Oh yeah totes," Chloe seemed relieved and looked over at Fat Amy. "So there are four groups on campus. The Bella's, that's us. We're the tits." She winked. "The BU harmonics. They sing a lot of Madonna. The High Notes. They're not particularly motivated. And finally the…Treblemakers" She gritted her teeth. "Basically 20 duos, five from each group have a riff-off and a total of 8 are selected, two from each group, to compete against other colleges at Lincoln Center. The High Notes rarely compete so it's usually just 6. Auditions are solo and you're teamed up with someone later." Chloe smiled and took the sign sheet from Fat Amy.

"I'll see you at auditions…Fat Amy?" Chloe stared at the sheet and rubbed her eyes as if trying to make sure she had read correctly. She looked up bemused but Fat Amy was already gone.

"Where'd she go?" Beca looked around confused as to why Fat Amy would drag her here and then leave her just like this.

"Probably went to pee." The ginger shrugged and placed the sheet before Beca. "But its aca-awesome we got two cool people for the Bella's after being at the stall for just 5 minutes. Aubrey would be stoked. The Bu Harmonics who were here before us just got one in two frigging hours" She squeaked and even though her voice was one of the cheery voices that annoyed Beca, the brunette however didn't seem to mind it at all.

"Um I'm not signing up. No offence this is just lame." Beca shrugged and stuffed her hands in the pocket of her waist coat. Chloe face drooped into a sad expression and the brunette felt a sudden pang of guilt in her stomach for being the cause of that sadness.

A hand came out of nowhere and snatched the sign-up sheet out of Beca's hand. "Aca-scuse me?"

Both, the ginger and the brunette, turned to look at the intruder with the voice and the hand.

"Aubrey…" Chloe winced but the blonde was too busy glaring at Beca to pay any attention to her. "We performed at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, you bitch. We even sang back up for Prince once!" She stepped threateningly close to Beca and pierced her honey coloured eyes with her daggering greens.

"Woah." Beca backed her head and sneered. "It was really nice to meet you." She turned her face towards Chloe and smiled, "but I don't even sing so...yeah sorry." She avoided looking at the blonde and began walking away.

"You're too alt for us anyway!" Aubrey shouted and Beca grinned to herself. First day and she had found, a weird boy who sang to her, a racist roommate, a friend who had ditched her in an awkward situation, a bubbly red-head who should have been something very annoying but she had taken some sort of likeness to her and finally a blonde who looked at her like she was sour milk.

She didn't feel like seeing the rest of the activities fair anymore, but she knew if she wanted to save up for LA, she needed to get at least one job. Sighing to herself, she went from one stall to the other. From random naked dudes dancing to girls in high school cheer-leading outfits, she had seen it all. The radio station was an option but the intern positions had been already filled and it wasn't a paid job anyway. The only two viable options were joining the cafeteria kitchen staff or the janitorial team. Both of which paid substantial money. She debated over the two choices in her head, weighing out the pros and cons and ultimately ruled in favour of the kitchen staff, solely because it would be less disgusting to cook for other people than to scrub the toilets. She hurried to the last row of the stalls where the crowd had evaporated to a mere eight or nine people. Spotting the kitchen staff booth, she rushed forward and signed it without looking at anyone and grabbed the job pamphlet of the table before hurrying away to her dorm.

Her first day had not been an entirely great experience. She could only hope the next day would be better.

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**AN: So no radio job. My apologies to all those who were looking forward to that scene. The kitchen job fits more into my plot. I'm sort of a pessimist at heart so I do not believe in love at first sight. Hence the "no instant bechloe omg i love you feels". Sorry about that too. I'll try to keep the AN's brief but sometimes I need to point out things like "NO DISRESPECT TO FAT PEOPLE OR KOREANS." Anyway I hope you like the chapter. Next one will hopefully be posted tomorrow. Don't forget to like and Review :) **


	3. When I'm Gone

**AN: Thank you for the reviews I'm glad you're excited about the story. There is a song part in this so if you want a better feeling of the chapter play the song when you get to that part. It's Anna Kendrick's Cup Song from Pitch Perfect. :) Even though in the chapter I mention the version by Lulu and Lampshades, listen to the Anna Kendricks version. If you see the official video of the song you'll kind of get what I'm playing around with. Anyway enjoy :)**

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The cafeteria was dull, a monotonous repetition of lunch trays and mindless chatter. The strong smell of ketchup emanated from the hot food line. There was a constant chatter and chewing of food around the round tables. Beca slung her headphones around her neck, weaved her way through the tables and crashed in front of the food line.

She leaned against the food counter and peered at the middle-aged lunch lady who seemed as if she would bite of someone's head if they touched her. "Hi, I'm Beca. I applied fo-"

"Go to the back and bring out the milk cartons." She flipped her hand without looking at the brunette.

"Alrighty then." Beca mumbled and headed through the flip door towards the back. The kitchen was organized and clean and about half of the staff were students which was a relief. She didn't have to be the only weird kitchen girl. A low buzz came from the flickering light in the corner. The refrigerator and the cooking station was in front of her while the sauce station was to her right and the dishwashing station was to her left. Also to her extreme left was another station not entirely visible due to the towering people scrubbing away at the dishes

"TODAY KIDDO!" The angry voice caused Beca to snap out of her daze and pace towards the large refrigerator. She yanked it open and grabbed as many milk cartons as she could. She ran back and forth bringing the milk from the fridge to the food counter. The chocolate milks were icy to the touch and her hands started to numb after only four rounds. About 30 minutes of milk rounds later, she breathlessly gazed at the lunch lady, hoping it was time for a break.

"Y'know how to knead flour into dough? The lunch lady yawned and continued to place tray after tray before the students.

"Uh…yes." Beca's heart sank and she nodded. Her parents had divorced when she was little and she'd lived with her mother until she was 12. Her mother had passed away leaving her in the custody of her father and the stepmonster. She had learned to do the basic stuff herself at a very young age and when she was 18, she had moved into an apartment to live on her own. Perhaps, that's what toughened her up. Her cooking was pretty good and she was innovative when it came to making dishes.

"Go to back and help that stupid boy. He gave me bread with holes the size of planet earth itself." The lunch lady growled and for a second Beca thought she would crouch over on all fours and start barking.

"Ok. I'm on it." The short girl rushed away in fear the woman might actually bite her. Upon investigation, she found the baking station was just behind the dish washers.

She lowered her head and grabbed a chunk from the flour mix, the minute she arrived at the station. The quicker she finishes this, the faster she can get a break. She tied an apron around her waist and adjusted her light blue v-neck shirt. She yanked at the apron to fluff it down, so her black jeans won't get floured. Her classes didn't start till next week and she still hadn't made up her mind on which subjects to take. Philosophy was a big no and so were all those 'gy's' her father had listed her for. She might take English Literature but that would require reading or a music class. Her thoughts rambled as she expertly began kneading the wet flour.

"Hey, I know you!" The boyish voice came from behind her and made her jump up in surprise. In her 4 years of high school only 2 people recognized; it was her second day in college, and some guy already knew her?

When she turned, she was saw the familiar leafy brown hair and slick grin. His hands were caked white with flour and his apron hung loose against his grey shirt and denims. "I sang to you." He continued.

"Technically you air guitar-ed but yeah ok." She resumed hacking at her flour mix.

"I remember because you were the only one who came to college in a taxi. Hey is your dad a taxi driver?" He plopped his dough next to hers and poked at it.

"…No." She raised an eyebrow, slipping his watery a look and yanking it out of his hands. "But you were in a BMW, so what is a rich boy like you doing working in a kitchen?

"The car was Mr. Rogers. He's my dad's boss and lent it to him for the weekend so his wife would know he's actually in Atlanta while he stayed at the Hamptons with his model girlfriend." He hopped on top of the table and watched her amusingly as she added dry flour to his flowing dough.

"Gee, that's nice." She rolled her eyes and shot him glare, pushing the kneaded dough in his direction. "Pop this in the oven. No more than 300 centigrade temperature and only for 30 minutes." She instructed him and he saluted.

"Mam, yes mam!" He gave her a serious look and grabbed the bread. Her lips twitched into a small smile and she glanced at him momentarily then commenced kneading his squelchy flour mix into a reasonable dough once again.

"I'm Jesse by the way," he mused.

"Beca." She said bluntly.

"So what's your deal? You're one of those girls who's all dark and mysterious, then she takes off her glasses and that amazingly scary ear spike, and you realize, she was beautiful the whole time." He grabbed another chunk of the flour mix and tried to copy Beca's movements.

"I don't wear glasses." She retorted.

"Then you're halfway there." He twisted his mixture into a heart shape and slid it into her peripheral vision.

Beca looked at it grimly and shook her head. "Wow so cheesy."

"No it's doughy." He flashed a cheeky grin and started laughing. The pun was stupid but even Beca let out a small chuckle.

"Ha. Made you laugh." He grinned and grabbed the freshly kneaded dough from Beca. "So I suppose you can work the dough and I can work the oven?"

"I have no idea why the lunch lady even put you with dough duty. You suck at this." Beca smirked and wiped her sweaty forehead with her forearm.

"I burnt the sauce; broke a plastic dish, no jokes; and managed to make an egg black. Since she's short staffed, she couldn't afford to fire me and gave me the less damaging job." He chortled and Beca shook her head laughing.

"You can work the oven." She nodded and tore another ball of the wet flour from the huge dish before her, sprinkling it with dry flour and throwing it into folds.

"You're seem really good at this bread making stuff. I mean I thought you would be one of those biker chicks who ate food at dusty old diners." He dusted his hands and pulled out the baked bread trays from the oven.

"Ever heard the phrase, don't judge a book by its cover?" Beca pronounced and Jesse raised his hands up in a defensive manner.

"I'm just saying. Sheesh." He yawned and looked at the clock. "Well Becawww," he sniggered, cawing her name, "It's time for my break. Later."

"Wh-," Beca swerved around about to glare at him threateningly but he had already vanished. In fact, the entire kitchen seemed empty.

"Huh?" The brunette pursed her lips and elevated her brows in bemusement. She left the dough and sauntered through the kitchen towards the food counter. The cafeteria was empty too, which means lunch was over and people had gone to their usual routine.

_Should she leave too?_ Beca shrugged and debated her other options. Since she had no classes yet, she could go back to her dorm and possibly find her hostile roommate there or she could go to the quad which would be bustling with people. If she stayed here, she could put in some extra hours and earn more money. _God, why did she have to be such a misanthropic!_ Beca cursed herself and headed back to her station. She plopped on her headphones which had been hanging around her neck and pushed the play button on her Walkman.

She wiped her forehead and began humming along to the catchy tune When You're Gone Cup Version by Lulu and the Lampshades. It was hard not to sing when she would hear a song she liked. She slowly tapped her feet along the beat and started singing.

"I've got my ticket for the long way round," she began melodiously and slowly swayed on her own while popping the dough tray in the oven. "Two bottle of whiskey for the way; And I sure would like some sweet company and I'm leaving tomorrow what do yah say?" She grabbed a cup from the holder and began moving it with the beat of the song.

"When I'm gone. When I'm go-o-one. You're gonna mi-"

"YOU CAN SING!" The cup slipped from the brunette's hand and she shrieked, backing against the oven as much as she could. Her music was low enough to hear what was going on outside and when she heard the extremely memorable, bubbly voice a sort of panic arose in her. It wasn't that she was shy of people listening to her sing, it was just that she had been caught off guard.

"DUDE!" She tried to calm down her overly fast heartbeat and glared at the girl who had just scared her out of her pants. The familiar coppery hair was tied back in a bun while the bluish white shirt and long yellow skirt highlighted the electric blue eyes. Chloe had a huge grin plastered on her face and the way she was looking at her made Beca feel like an early Christmas present.

"You have to HAVE TO audition for the Bellas! Pleaaaasseee?" She pouted and crossed her hands before her in a pleading stance.

"Wh-no! I mean what are you even doing back here?!" Beca was still shaken up and was finding a hard time to cling on to the ginger's words.

"I forgot my phone in the cafeteria so I returned to get it then I heard your angelic voice and came here." Chloe looked at her casually as if she had said the most normal thing in the world. Beca, though, could feel her face getting hotter by the second. _Angelic? _

"I err," She tried to say something, to thank Chloe, just say anything to stop the reddish blimp from appearing on her face. "You shouldn't be back here." It was all she could manage. She turned away and started kneading another batch of flour, more forcefully than earlier. She would do anything to avoid eye-contact with the redhead right now.

But Chloe was a stubborn one. She was beside Beca in an instant. It was what she did next that surprised Beca the most. The brunette had not comprehended this. The tall ginger slid her hands over Beca's and weaved her fingers in between the spaces of Beca's fingers then gently pried her hands away from the dough. "Is there any way I can talk you into this?" Chloe's voice was gentle and pleading. Clearly she did not feel her actions were inappropriate. The warmth of the ginger's hands spread through Beca like a cup of hot chocolate during a snowstorm.

Beca's reaction was purely reflexive and solely because she was not used to someone touching her and the warmth of another human somewhat petrified her. She quickly yanked her hands away and tilted her head towards Chloe, looking freaked out. Chloe's face contorted like she was hurt, which wedged an extremely guilty feeling in the brunette, as if she didn't know she was not supposed to do this.

"Please just consider it. The audition is tomorrow in Vanderbilt auditorium." She said quietly then lowered her head and staggered away.

Beca parted her lips to say something, to tell her it was okay, but the words never came out. She felt the stinging guilty feeling burning at her, for turning down the redhead like that, who was only trying to make her listen.

_Maybe she could find her and apologize? Try and make her understand? _Beca sighed and smacked her floury hand against her forehead. She wasn't a rude person and it was clear her action had hurt Chloe. Making her understand might be a harder and longer process to apologize. Deep down, she knew exactly what she had to do to apologize to the ginger.

It was daunting but she would have to do it. She was going to audition for the Bellas'. All she could hope for now was that the hostile blonde she had met yesterday would reject her after the audition. Her brows furrowed and she tried to focus all her attention on the white, squishy mixture of flour and water once more.

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**AN: So no shower scene either. Don't hate me. Once again, anything that sounds disrespectful in this chapter is totally not so yeah. My sincerest apologies. Feedback is highly appreciated. Thank you :)**


	4. We'll Never Be Royals

**AN: Thank you so much for your feedback :) It really boosts my morale. To maryelizabethstark****: Yes it would be hilarious won't it ;) **

**WARNING: Slightly longer chapter.  
For this chapter, the auditions are of course not based on acapella so yeah everyone sings a song of their choice. You may or may not play the song for the other auditions since I won't go into too much detail with them but I would seriously advice you to play the audition song for Beca when you get to that part. Gives a better visual in my opinion. The song is Royals (cup cover by Sarah Stone) by Lorde. (Here is a youtube link to her song just in case [ youtube com /watch?v=sz2tRlQ-q6c] remove the spaces and put the dot after youtube) Anyway Enjoy :)**

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She shuffled her feet and stared at the wooden plaque with the words 'Vanderbilt Auditorium' engraved in ebony. _What the hell is she even doing? _Beca's throat tightened and she clenched her sweaty fists. _Let's just go in quick. Do it. And get out._ She reassured herself and grabbed the steel rail of the door. Drawing in a sharp breath, she pushed the white washed door and stepped into an entirely different world.

The black leather seats of the auditorium on either side were mostly occupied. By the looks of it most of people seated were here to audition like her. There was a light strumming of guitars and constant melodious murmur of singing. The front rows were filled with people turning over papers._ They must be the judges_, Beca thought. Her eyes ran along the back of the front row until she located the loosely hanging, burnt orange hair that belonged to Chloe. The stage was not exactly big. It was rectangular with laminated wooden flooring.

"Beca?" The Australian accent made Beca cock her head to the left and look at the beaming face of Fat Amy.

"Hey ditcher," She grinned and waddled through the people in the last row to take a seat next to the blonde.

"Oi I had to pee! Do you know if you hold pee for long, climaxes become shorter? Pfft." Fat Amy nodded excessively and the brunette scrunched up her face in disgust. "Gross Amy!" She shook her head and looked at the stage ahead.

"I hope we get paired together!" The heavy girl slapped Beca's shoulder causing her to tumble forward slightly and cringe.

"And I hope I get rejected." The brunette mumbled and massaged her shoulder.

"So whatcha singin'? No instruments?" Fat Amy exclaimed.

"Er, I-," Beca began but she was cut short when someone from the front row got up and jumped onto the stage.

"Listen up nerds." The bulky boy, in a red jacket with the insignia "Treblemakers" and dark maroon pants crossed his hands before him and walked from one corner of the stage to the other. "I'm Bumper and since Treblemakers were the winners last times, we've decided that songs only from this century should be sung. Because last time a fellow musical member," he coughed and said a name which was hard to catch on but there was a huge roar of laughter from the boys in similar red jackets. "Blew chunks all over the place. Look! Here's my impression." He began skipping to the center of the stage and let out a high pitched voice. "I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes. I saw blaaaaauuuughh." He pretended to puke and the entire auditorium burst into a fit of laughter including Beca.

"What even…"The brunette shook her head laughing while Fat Amy banged the seat in front of her and began wiggling around with hysteric laughter.

Once the audience settled down, another person got up from the front row and strolled to the center of the stage. Beca instantly recognized her as the hostile blonde, Aubrey, she had met at the activities fair. "My fellow musicians, we will not let egotistical, garbage-headed, dirtballs, whomever you may be," she narrowed her eyes at Bumper, who raised his hand and nodded moderately causing another surge of laughter to ensue, "take us down. The Bella's will return to the STD and redeem themselves." Aubrey bubbled up with emotion and huffed.

"STD?" Beca's brows shot up in bemusement.

"STD is short for Sing Till you Drop." Fat Amy whispered and the brunette groaned. _What the hell have I gotten myself into?!_

"Alright first up is the audition's for Trebles. Don't just sing it, bring it. Let's do this!" Bumper cheered and jumped of the stage.

A weasely boy, walked timidly onto the stage and looked down at his feet. "My name is Benji," his eyes were fixated on his feet. He fumbled with his guitar pick and dropped it on the ground twice. Everyone in the room, including Beca, was expecting a rotten audition but the boy took them all by surprise when he started singing, 'Magic by B.O.B'. He ended at a high note and the entire auditorium stood up to give him a round of applause.

"Thank you. Performing live gives me such a rush!" He smiled excitedly, his shyness faded, and stepped down from the stage.

"These Treble's are bumholes but talented bumholes." Fat Amy remarked and Beca nodded in agreement. The short girl noticed that everyone in the room had some sort of instrument or karaoke to back up their vocals. All except her. _Great now Chloe will think I didn't even try._ She lightly smacked her palm against her forehead and sighed.

The rest of the Treble auditions were just as good as Benji's. Jesse was here to audition too, much to Beca's surprise, and his singing was way better than his kitchen skills. He was the last audition for the Treble's so when he clamored down the stage, Aubrey stepped up. Jesse gave her a side look and winked causing Aubrey's face to turn a deep shade of crimson. Beca noticed this and smirked. _This boy couldn't help himself could he? _

"Alright everybody," she coughed and tried to brush away the blush. "Now we'll have the Bella's auditions. Give it your best girls." She clapped and wandered back to her seat.

Beca's eyes slowly drifted to the back of Chloe's head along her smooth red hair. She gulped and stood up. If she went first, she could get out the minute she was done. A vice-like grip pulled her down and Beca let out a small low yelp.

"Calm your vajayjay, I got this." Fat Amy hobbled down the rows and tumbled onto the stage. "Hi I'm Fat Amy," She introduced herself and the audience once again started to giggle and chuckle. "OI!" Fat Amy boomed and pin-drop-silence supervened in the entire auditorium.

"Right then, no er back up dancers?" She mumbled then shook her head. "Ok…" The karaoke for 'Since You've Been Gone' started to play and Amy sang impressively. Beca hooted once she finished and Amy did a drumroll ending with. "Crushed it."

The other Bella auditions were good but not as impressive as the Trebles. There was a girl called Lily, whose voice was so low that Aubrey and Chloe had to stand next to her, to hear what she was singing. Another girl, Stacie, was more into the provocative dance movements than the singing. Others like Cynthia Rose, Denise, Ashley, Mary Elise and Kori were pretty good.

"Anyone else for the Bella's?" The sad final call from Chloe made Beca jump up from her seat. _Here goes nothing. _She groaned and headed towards the stage. She kept her eyes pinned ahead so she could avoid looking at Chloe's face. _You can do this. Just give it your best and hope Aubrey doesn't let you in. Yup. _She inhaled deeply and looked at the audience. "Hi, I'm Beca." She introduce herself and attempted to smile. "Um I'm going to be singing er-" _She doesn't have karaoke. She doesn't have an instrument. What should she do? _She saw a plastic cup of water in front of Bumper and casually walked up to him.

"Woah you want me to sign your breasts right now?" Bumper sniggered but Beca looked at him vacantly. She lifted the cup and emptied its contents on to the snooty boy's head. A cheer erupted in the auditorium and a sly grin crept up her lips. He totally deserved that.

"Way to go, Becaaww!" Somebody from the audience yelled and Beca immediately identified it as Jesse's. _Didn't he just audition for the Trebles? _ The brunette strode up to the stage once again. She inhaled and finally looked apologetically at Chloe who was smiling ecstatically. Chloe's face had the same expression it had when she found her singing. _Guess that means apology accepted. _Beca grinned and sat down on the stage.

"I'm going to be singing Royals by Lorde." There was a round of applause and a lot of hooting which made Beca feel a little relaxed. Even a bit good about herself. She played the song in her head and began moving the cup.

"I've never seen a diamond in the flesh; I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies; And I'm not proud of my address; In a torn-up town, no postcode envy…. That kind of luxe just ain't for us; We crave a different kind of buzz; Let me be your ruler; You can call me queen Bee; And baby I'll rule; Let me live that fantasy." She gave her cup a slight twist then smacked it down.

Beca smiled a little and looked up. There was no applause or hooting, everyone in the audience was either looking at her in awe or as if someone had thwacked their heads with a hammer. "Umm." Beca stood up and shifted awkwardly before heading off the stage. She quickly slipped up to the auditorium door and headed out. _Phew, that's done with. _She couldn't help but grin to herself. Even Aubrey was looking at her in a "wow" way and Chloe was giving Aubrey the "I told you so" look.

Her body was flushed with adrenaline. The only other time she experienced this was when she made a really great mix. Even if she didn't get the part, Beca realized something. There was a certain pleasantness in pissing people off but there was an even greater thrill in making them speechless with your talent. And all of this was because of the redhead.

Beca walked (practically skipped) back to her dorm, humming to herself. "Kimmy Jin," she greeted her roommate way too pleasantly and earned a "wtf" look from her. "Life of the party aren't you? Beca rolled her eyes and slumped in her desk chair. She had a brilliant idea for a mix.

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By the time Beca had finished, evening had rolled on. She yawned and crossed her hands behind her head leaning back into the chair. Today was not such a bad day after all. All she needs now is a nice, relaxing sle-

"GET HER!" Her dorm door blasted open cutting her thoughts and four hooded figures ran inside.

"WHA-," Beca's eyes widened and she was about to scream when a rather soft hand pressed against her lips while rough, burly hands were lifting her up.

"Shush, it's just a ritual." The whisper against her ear, made her shiver slightly. It was Chloe. She caught the gist of what was happening and relaxed a little. _She's in the Bella's. _Technically, she was supposed to feel sad so why was there such a goofy grin plastered on her face? She was carried out of her dorm out the quad and into a school- gym like room labelled 'Bella's'. The entire room was lit up by scented candles and there was a table at the center lined with really ugly scarves.

She wasn't alone. Fat Amy and all of the other girls that had auditioned were here today except one or two whose names she didn't remember.

She was let down on her feet and the hooded figures pulled down their hoods. Two of them were guys while the other two were Aubrey, the blonde who had said she would never let her into Bellas' and Chloe, the reason she was in this in the first place.

"Thank you Bryan and Caleb that would be all." Aubrey hushed away the boys who nodded and left the room.

Fat Amy slid in beside her and literally crushed her hand with her tight grip. "I'm so excited right now" She whispered leaning her head sideways a little. "The only other time I was this excited was when I was constipated for 6 days and the truckload of laxatives finally paid off."

Beca rubbed the side of her head and looked at Amy, weirdly. "I still don't know why you think it's appropriate to tell me all of this." She murmured.

"We shall begin by drinking the blood of the sister's that came before you." Aubrey lifted a large champagne coupe which was filled up to the brim with deep red liquid and handed it to Chloe.

Chloe stepped towards Beca first and flashed a toothy grin at her while the brunette brows shot up and her eyes widened. "Dude no!" She exclaimed and Chloe chuckled. "Don't worry, its Boone's Farm," the ginger uttered and winked.

_These people are so weird. _Beca shook her head and grabbed the coupe, taking a small sip and passing it on.

Once they were done with the 'blood of the sister's', Aubrey handed each of them a scarf.

"Now if you'll place your scarves in your right hand and repeat this oath." Chloe piped in excitedly.

"I," Aubrey began, "Sing your name".

Everyone followed Aubrey's suit and sang out their names in different tones making it sound utterly horrible.

Aubrey winced slightly then continued, "Promise to fulfil the duties and responsibilities of a Bella woman." The others repeated in unison.

"And I solemnly promise to never have sexual relations with a Treblemaker, or may my vocal cords be ripped out by wolves."

_Huh? _Beca raised an eyebrow but repeated the oath. She had a feeling Aubrey would be the one who'd have more trouble with this oath given the effect Jesse had on her earlier.

"Congratulations. You are all Bellas now." Aubrey smiled forcibly and Chloe turned on the lights. Everyone started hooting and cheering and even Beca let a small smile slip.

"Ok everyone. Time to pair." She placed five regular cut pieces of paper on the table and a pen. "Lily, Stacie, Fat Amy, Denise and…" she paused for a bit. "Beca. Step forward please and write your names on the slips. Fold it and place it in this." She pointed at a red beer cup.

"Aww looks like we won't get paired together," Fat Amy nudged Beca and pouted a little. Beca merely shrugged and scribbled down her name. She folded her paper roughly and dropped it into the cup.

Once they were all done, Aubrey stepped to the cup and drew out a name. "Ashley, Cynthia Rose, Kori and Chloe. Draw out a name." Chloe practically skipped towards the cup and held her slip up like a trophy.

"Alright, I have Fat Amy." Aubrey lips twitched as if she wanted to smile but it never came.

"I got Stacie," Cynthia Rose winked at the provocative tall girl.

"I got…Lily," Kori moaned and Lily said something but none of them could make out a word.

"I got Denise," Ashley grinned. They seemed to get along well.

_Oh no. _Beca felt her windpipe tighten making it hard to breathe.

Chloe didn't even bother to open her slip. She looked straight at Beca with giant smile.

"I"

_No _

"got"

_Don't say it._

"Beca."

_Shit. _

Beca tried her best to return the smile. The redhead was the exact opposite of what she was. She hated bubbly and cheery and the ginger was the definition of that. She hated the world while Chloe seemed like the sort of person who was friends with everybody. She didn't know happy and Chloe screamed happiness. And now she'll have to spend time with her, rehearse with her. _Why did she have to care so much about hurting her in the first place?_ Beca groaned slightly.

"You'll have to spend as much time as possible with your significant other." Aubrey nodded.

_Well of course. _Beca internally cursed herself.

"Alright ladies, first group rehearsal is tomorrow. Eight a.m. sharp. Goodbye for now." Everyone headed out the room excitedly, all except Beca who was trying to devise ways to get out of this.

_I could fake chicken pox or measles or... _Her mind began to ramble on with pointless ideas. She was halfway to the quad when she realized she had forgotten her scarf on the table when she was writing her name on the slip.

She jogged back to the rehearsal room and placed her hand on the door handle. She was about to push it open when she heard voices.

"I don't know why we had to keep that alt girl," said the familiar posh voice of Aubrey. "We could have kept Mary Elise instead of her."

"She was the best audition and you know it." The softer more cheerful voice retorted. _Chloe, _Beca thought.

"She doesn't even look sophisticated or nice like a Bella. Her and those ear monstrosities." Aubrey, spat with a lot of disgust in her voice.

"She isn't supposed to look nice. Everybody looks nice but she? I think she looks like art." Chloe stated.

"What the hell do you even mean by that?" Aubrey questioned.

"I mean she's like art. Art's not supposed to be perfect or sophisticated or even nice. Heck, art can even be displeasing to the eye but it makes you feel something. It can either fill the void of your soul or it makes you want to kill yourself." Chloe replied. "She's art, Aubrey."

Beca gulped as she felt the same warmth she had experienced when Chloe had touched her hands.

There was silence on the other side for a while and Beca too, was glued to her spot.

"Ok ok I know you're majoring in English Lit. Turn the dramatics down a notch, Fitzgerald." Aubrey said sarcastically and Beca heard the light giggle coming from Chloe in response.

"I just hope you're right about her. If we lose to those Treble's again, I'm going to shoot them all in the head, personally." Aubrey gritted her teeth. "Somebody left their scarf here, make sure they get it tomorrow with a huge amount of scolding would you? If it's even possible for you to scold someone."

"Hey! I can be pretty nasty when I want." Chloe exclaimed.

Both Aubrey and Beca, began to laugh.

"Someone's out there!" Chloe hushed Aubrey.

_And that's my cue. _Beca nodded to herself and trekked back to her dorm. Her roommate was not here, which was a huge relief for Beca. She placed her bulky headphones against her ears and slumped down on her bed trying hard not to think back to Chloe's words. But as she slowly drifted into a deep slumber, her words rang through Beca's ears.

_She's art. Aubrey._

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**AN: Don't forget to like and review guys :) Next chapter may be posted tomorrow or day after tomorrow depends on how busy I get.**


	5. Dilemma

**AN: No notes for this chapter. So yeah enjoy :) and please like and review. Helps a lot :)**

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"You're late," The kitchen lady tapped her foot impatiently and fumed. The way she looked, Beca thought she could fry an egg on her head.

"Yeah I know I slept in. I'm sorry" The short brunette tried to make her tone as apologetic as possible even though right now she wished she could just lie in her comfortable bed and fall into a nice deep sleep again.

"Sorry doesn't cut it kid." The woman towered over her like a giant. Clearly, she wasn't going to let this go so easily.

"Hey cut me some slack I stay back a lot of times when I'm not supposed to alright?" Beca lashed out feeling irritated.

"You're not doing that for free." The middle-aged woman stared at her coldly and the brunette sighed. There was no point in arguing with her.

"Look, it won't happen again." She shrugged and pulled on her apron.

"It better not. You're on serving duty today." The kitchen lady gritted her teeth and handed Beca a tray stack.

Breakfast was over at 8, which means she had to rush to the Bellas rehearsal straight from here. _She's art, Aubrey. _The thought she was trying to bury had crept up into her mind once more. _It either fills the void of your soul or makes you want to kill yourself…_She wondered what was it she made Chloe feel. What a dilemma. It was like a two-edged sword where both the possibilities were equally terrifying.

"Oi you gonna put the burger in or what?" A burly voice snapped her out of her daze and she placed the food in the impatient boy's tray. Beca saw Jesse sneak in the cafeteria, already wearing an apron. _Oh he's gonna be in so much trouble! _She snickered and plopped another tray in front.

She was right. Jesse heard an earful before he too was put on serving duty with her.

"You really want to get fired don't you?" She smirked when he slipped next to her grumbling and slid a milk carton in his direction.

"Fired? Nahhhh, she loves me too much." He grinned and placed the carton on the tray, handing it to a student.

"Speaking of love," Beca's lips curled into an evil grin as she nudged Jesse a little. "I saw the wink you gave Aubrey during the auditions."

"You know she's one of those girls and I'm one of those guys, and we're gonna have a hundred children like Bragelina." His face turned dreamy making the short girl laugh.

"Yeah sure. I doubt that will happen since you're a Treblemaker and she'll rather have wolves rip out her vocal cords." She said rather amused.

"Yeah yeah we'll see how long she can resist the inevitable. At least you should be happy. I won't cheeseball all over you now that you're like the enemy." He jeered and balanced a tray on his forefinger then let it drop on the counter neatly. "I'm going to crush you like a grape at STD."

"And Aubrey isn't?" The brunette cocked a brow and rolled her eyes "Yeah we'll see. Who did you get paired with?"

"Wow Becs are you jealous of Aubrey? Because you'll always be my first ok?" Jesse placed his hand over his chest and smiled dramatically "That Benji kid. He's awesome. He can do some really great magic tricks. Who'd you get?"

"You're such a weirdo." Beca laughed. Lately, she had been doing that a lot. Jesse was the kind of person she used to be friends with when she was a little girl. The funny nerdy guy. She didn't have many friends when she was in high school because she'd always been the kind of girl who would loathe other girls for being so superficial and superficial ran the school. College world was different from high school in that aspect.

Her fingers tingled a little and the smile vanished from her face. "Er, Chloe." She coughed, trying to mask the awkwardness from Jesse. It was so much easier to be around other people but Chloe she just couldn't figure out why.

"I hear she's pretty good and after the performance you pulled at the auditions if she's your partner, I'm thinking the Trebles will have some competition." He said earnestly, completely oblivious to Beca's discomfort.

"Yeah I s'pose." She shrugged. She still hadn't committed herself to the Bellas. Sure, she had auditioned for Chloe and got in but Bellas was a hindrance in her original plan to save up for LA. Between Bella rehearsals and classes, she'll have to cut back on her job which would mean less pay and more college years to endure.

They continued the rest of their one-hour shift talking about random things which led to Jesse discovering how much Beca loathed movies and his vowing to give her a 'movie-cation'.

"They're predictable, Jes." She groaned. She had eased into his friendship now that there was no cheesy flirting.

"Ok we'll see how predictable you'll find Psycho once I make you watch it." He grimaced and shook his head in disbelief. "Not liking movies is not liking puppies Beca!"

"Ugh." She rolled her eyes and looked at the clock overhead. "Alright. I gotta go. Bellas rehearsals." She waved him goodbye, pulled off her apron and began trekking out to the quad.

She paced to the Bellas rehearsal room and went inside. "You're late." Aubrey's voice was cold and stern.

The brunette glanced at her wrist watch. 8:01. "Really? You're going to begrudge me for a minute?" She stared at her and the blonde chewed on her bottom lip like she wanted to say something but was trying to hold back.

"Chloe's on the quad under that big oak tree so just go there and try to figure out your practice sessions. Make sure you learn how to match pitch with e- Chloe will explain. Just go." She sighed while Beca was bewildered.

"I thought you said group practi- Ok I'm going" She changed her sentence when she caught the glare from Aubrey. Sighing to herself, she strolled back on the quad and began looking for the big oak tree. It was central and not too hard to spot. Cautiously, she began approaching the tree.

It came as a reddish glint in the sun first. As she neared the tree, the glint turned into an entire reddish fire, tied back in a rough ponytail. She was wearing thick reading glasses and scrunching over a tattered old book. _Well of course she likes to read. _Beca couldn't help but smile. She looked adorable.

_Wow I'm so queer. _She shook her head and stepped closer feeling her heartbeat getting quicker. _She's just someone you have to practice singing with. There is nothing awkward about this. Get over yourself. _While, the brunette was mentally preparing herself, Chloe was reading.

Out loud.

"I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self-respect. And it's these things I'd believe in, even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn't all she should be. I love her and it is the beginning of everything." Her voice was soft and it sounded like she almost meant what she said.

Beca froze. Was it a coincidence that the words seemed so befitting? Maybe it was literary magic happening or maybe it was the truth… All she knew was that there was something about those words. They felt different. They set her lungs and her stomach on edge. There was something exciting about them, and something nervous. They made her feel like everything, like the world, wasn't what she'd thought it was.

"Beca!" Chloe's head was tilted towards her while the book was clutched tightly against her chest. She didn't realize she had been staring at the redhead the entire time her thoughts were rambling.

"Huh?" She shook out of her day dream and looked at the ginger who was staring at her peculiarly.

"Are you alright?" She took of her glasses and peered at her with those big blue eyes. There was a hint of concern in them. She motioned for her to sit down next to her.

"Yeah sorry. Just a bit nervous I s'pose." Beca lied and sat down next to her being cautious not to touch her accidently. She didn't have close proximity problems with Jesse or Fat Amy but touching Chloe scared her for some entirely screwed up reason she could not explain. "So Aubrey said you'll explain everything. I thought this was supposed to be a group rehearsal?"

"What do you have to be nervous for? You're so good." The redhead grinned and placed her hand over Beca's. The brunette flinched, she wanted to yank her hand away once more but she would hurt her feelings again and God knows what she would do this time to apologize to her. Instead, she drew in deep breaths and ignored the softness and warmth of Chloe's hand. The redhead had an odd habit of being too touchy feely so of course she could not sense the sudden discomfort Beca felt. "Oh we decided it's best if all the duos got acquainted first. You and I are going to be spending a lot of time together!" She yelped and gave her hand a light squeeze.

"That's great!" Beca tried to give her toothy grin and share her excitement but internally she could feel a miniature version of herself crawling into a dark space and beating itself with a fry pan for even being so stupid to audition in the first place.

"I know! I have a feeling we're going to be really fast friends." She smiled brightly and gave Beca's hand a slight pat before letting it go. The minute her hand was off, the brunette lifted hers a little too quickly and shoved it in her jacket pockets.

"Yeah I bet." She gave her a quick smile and lay back against the grass. "So what are we supposed to do?"

Chloe placed her book aside (The Great Gatsby, coincidentally by F. Scott _Fitzgerald) _and laid down beside her. "We can try to harmonize today." She tilted her head towards her while Beca kept her gaze firm towards the sky.

"Umm before we begin, can I have my scarf back? I forgot it in the Bellas room yesterday." She winced slightly remembering last night.

"You're the one? Aubrey said I'm supposed to scold you!" Chloe gasped and pulled out the ugly Bella scarf from her jean pocket.

"Yeah I know." Beca said, then bit on her tongue a little too late. _Shit. _

"Wait what?" The redhead sat up clutching the scarf tightly and stared at her baffled. "...How do you…You were the one I heard outside?"

_Wait a go dumbass. _Beca cursed herself and directed her gaze towards her nodding in affirmation. "Umm yes."

"How long were you out there?" The voice was quiet and there was a hint of fear in it. Chloe's entire body had tensed up.

_How do you expect me to answer THAT!? _She has never been a good liar. Never. But if she told her tooth she'd be jumping to her own demise. "Er, I just got there when Aubrey was talking about someone forgetting their scarf. I didn't want to piss her off any more than I had already done. So I bailed." The lie sounded convincing enough.

"You're also the one who laughed?" Chloe said convinced, relaxing a little.

"Yeah." She nodded once again.

"So you think I can't scold you?" Chloe pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes looking even more adorable than before.

"You can try." Beca smirked and pushed up on her elbows looking at her amused.

"Alright." She put on her thick reading glasses and pushed it down to the brim of her nose then crossed her arms over her chest. "Rebecca Mitchell you've done a very bad thing young lady! Your scarf is your dignity! I should ground you." She furrowed her brows trying to look stern.

She tried her best to stifle the laughter that was building up but unable to hold it, she fell back and wiggled around laughing heartily. She didn't care if anyone was watching, she lay there literally laughing her butt off as her eyes started to water. Chloe tried to look offended but her lips couldn't resist the smile that was coming. She lay back and began laughing with her.

Beca wiped her eyes and clutched her stomach. "Wow that was a good laugh." She grinned and tilted her face towards the ginger who was already looking at her. "You have a great laugh." Chloe whispered.

Their eyes met. She already knew that Chloe had blue eyes but now that she was seeing them. Really seeing them. They were blue like those crayons she used in kindergarten to colour in the ocean. It's like they were holding back some really obvious secret, the way they smiled at her.

_Am I really thinking about her eyes? _A voice spoke into her head.

"Um, er," Beca quickly turned away and began looking up at the sky again. "So let's match pitch or something." She coughed and sat up.

Chloe pushed up on her elbows and stared at her momentarily. She bit her bottom lip slightly then nodded. "Yeah ok."


	6. Underneath My Skin

**AN: Sorry for the late update guys! Thank you everybody for the follow and favourites! Means a lot! A shout out to all those for the taking the time to review the story :) **

**NOTE! Ok so for this chapter Chloe and Beca sing Party in the USA I mean just play that bus scene in the background while reading that part. It's your choice really no hard fast rule for this one. Enjoy :)**

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"JES, NO MORE!" Beca cried out as she buried her face in the pillow of Jesse's dorm bed. They had been watching movies for over 5 hours and yes Psycho was not predictable and perhaps she did shed a teeny tiny tear drop at the end of Forrest Gump, but she was tired and wanted to get out of his popcorn smelling room. Jesse, however, was persistent. He wanted her to watch The Breakfast Club now.

"But Becaaww this is TBC! THIS IS JUDD NELSON WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WOMAN!" He boomed and looked at her pleadingly. "Come on pleassseee?"

"Jes, I'm tired and I'm about to die from sleep. Can't we just do this another time?" She groaned and fake-yawned causing Jesse to grumble.

"Wait. IT'S FIVE HOLY SHIT I'M LATE!" He looked flabbergasted. "You have to go like right now! But don't die before watching TBC alright?" He plopped of the bed and began rummaging through his closet.

"What the….where are you going?" She raised an eyebrow and pushed down the laptop screen, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Nowhere!" He retaliated a little too quickly. "I mean just getting a beer with the Trebles." He pulled on a black shirt and sprayed himself with too much cologne.

"Uhuh. Sure you are." Beca rolled her eyes. "Who's your date, dimwit? Thought you were into Aubrey?" She got up and wobbled slightly. Her legs were stiff from lying in the same position for so long.

"Umm no one in particular just a girl in my class." He grinned a little too much causing Beca to become more bewildered than before.

"If you say so." She shrugged. It was obvious the brown haired boy was hiding something but she was too tired to care. Slowly, she made her way to the door and yanked it open when a hand appeared out of nowhere and began knocking on her forehead.

"HEY!" She winced and slapped the hand away, receiving a small shriek in response. "BECA!?" The familiar voice of Aubrey Posen greeted her, terrified.

"Aubrey?" The brunette's brows shot up and she looked at the taller girl, baffled.

"What are you doing here?" Aubrey demanded and tapped her foot impatiently on the floor.

"Watching movies with Jes." She stated as a matter of fact, then flipped back the question. "What are _you _doing here?"

"Going on a d- I MEAN I was um uh," she stumbled over her words a lot and Beca finally looked her over. She was dressed to impress. Her hair was hanging loose and curled against a cute pink strapless dress. "I wanted to give Jesse…uh..a message! YEAH" She nodded. "From the philosophy teacher."

"Aubrey," Jesse appeared in the doorway next to Beca reciprocating Aubrey's terrified expression. The truth dawned on her and Beca bit back her lips to stop them from curling into a grin. "Well um wouldn't want to keep you waiting from giving that _important _message." She moved her hand along her lips to hide the spreading smile and straightened up.

"See you later, Jess." She flashed him a quick wink before turning to Aubrey. "Later, Aubrey." She nodded and sauntered out into the corridor. The minute she turned into the corridor, she stopped walking and leaned against the wall grinning goofily. _HOLY. SHIT. AUBREY AND JESSE!? _She thought to herself. _There is no way I'm going to not stake-out on this date! _She snickered and rubbed her hands gleefully like the Grinch that stole Christmas.

"Beca?" The soft voice made the brunette jerk her head, reflexively lift her hand and place it against the mouth of the intruder. _Chloe._ The redhead's eyes widened and she looked taken aback. Without realizing it, Beca had pinned the taller girl to the wall by keeping her hand firmly over her lips.

The short girl's eyes widened too but she didn't pull back her hand. "Chloe? What are you doing here?" She whispered.

"Mgh..nsm..esfrf." The redhead tried to speak against her hand, her blue hues looking questioningly at Beca.

"Huh?" The brunette cocked a brow unable to understand what she was saying.

She heard what sounded like a groan in response. Chloe lifted her hand placed it on top of Beca's hand that was somehow still against her lips. _Well of course you idiot! _The short girl shook her head at her own stupidity and slowly removed her hand. Chloe's hand seemed to travel along with hers the entire way to the bottom.

"I was following Aubrey. I think she's going out." She said in a hushed whisper and Beca grinned.

"Oh yeah she is! With Jesse!" She replied in an excited whisper. The ginger's mouth dropped open and she grabbed Beca's hands tightly.

"Oh my gosh! Please tell me we're going to stalk this date? Aubrey hasn't gone out in a billion years and she's choosing to go with a Treble right now!?" She tried to speak in a barely audible voice but the anticipation was bubbling through her.

Once again, Beca tried to ignore the softness of her hands or the fact that she smelled like homemade cake up close. "We're definitely going to stalk this date." She nodded. The short brunette had been spent most of this week with Chloe. They would get together after classes and before classes all the time. At first, it took her time to adjust to the redhead's intimate nature but by now she had learned to ignore the tingly feeling she experienced every time they were this close. Just like now.

Beca tilted her head and slightly peeped it from behind the wall. The corridor was empty. "Hey where'd she go?" The brown haired girl murmured.

Chloe's head peered on top of Beca's and she pointed at Jesse's door. "It's opening, quick get back!" She yelped and both of them jolted back against the wall.

"I'm sorry, Bree. When I watch movies, time flies by." The whimpering voice of Jesse filled the corridor.

"Jesse she could have figured it out! I've taken an oath here!" Aubrey Posen replied angrily.

"I'm sorry. Pleassssseee? You look beautiful tonight by the way." The boy replied charmingly causing Beca and Chloe to turn their heads towards each other and stifle their laughter.

"Oh alright." Aubrey giggled and Beca's mouth dropped open. _I didn't even think she could smile properly and she's giggling!? _"Where are we going, tonight?" She asked excitedly.

"It's a surprise." Jesse responded excitedly and Chloe mouthed an 'awww' at Beca. The sound of the approaching footsteps made the two girls jump up and pace out the door before them. They bounced off the steps and ducked behind the bushes.

"Did you hear that?" Aubrey yelped slightly and directed her gaze to the bushes behind which Beca and Chloe held their breath in anticipation. She grabbed Jesse's shirt and inched closer while Jesse grinned and wrapped an arm around her. "Don't worry. I'll protect you."

"HO-" This time it was Chloe's hand against Beca's mouth. "Shusshhh." She whispered hysterically. The ginger's lips were close enough to her ear to send shivers down her spine. They remained rooted in their spot until they saw Jesse and Aubrey walk out the college gate.

"Quick! We'll take my car." Chloe jumped up and down excitedly making the short girl laugh.

"You're more excited about this than me." She stuffed her hands in her jacket pocket and began following the ginger.

"Well of course. I've rarely ever seen Aubrey this happy and smiling. And I've known her for five years." She smiled and skipped towards the parking lot.

"I thought I was the only one she didn't smile at." Beca paced behind her and shrugged.

"Oh come on Becs, she doesn't hate you THAT much. She just doesn't understand you." Chloe stopped short before her car door and looked at Beca lightly tugging on her lower lip with her teeth. "Like I do."

The short girl stared at her silently. She opened her mouth to say something then shook her head and closed it. They stared at each other for what seemed like a long time until Beca finally pulled open the car door. "They're getting away," she spoke and Chloe nodded sitting down on the driver seat. They steadily trailed Aubrey's black Mercedes. As freshmen, neither Jesse nor Beca had a car yet but it wasn't against rules or anything. It was mostly because their parents weren't super rich like Aubrey or Chloe who was driving a convertible Porsche and they were saving up for something else; in Beca's case LA. The brunette, oddly, was not thinking about that. Normally she would be making mental notes about this. About how unfair the world is. But not right now. No, she was thinking about Chloe. About her words.

"What are you thinking about?" Chloe finally said unable to stand the silence in the car.

_How ironic. _Beca shook her head. "Nothing." She shrugged and Chloe turned on the music to counter the deafening silence between them. The stupid Miley Cyrus, 'Party in the USA' song began blasting through her stereo. _Well of course she likes Miley Cyrus and of course she likes this particular song. _  
"I hopped off the plane at L.A.X; with a dream and my cardigan; welcome to the land of fame excess; am I gonna fit in?" Chloe casually began singing along and tapped the steering wheel as she tailed behind Aubrey and Jesse.

"Come on Becs, aren't you gonna sing?" She tilted her head for a bit in the brunette's direction and smiled, then redirected her gaze back to the road.

"Um I'm gonna pass." Beca shook her head and grimaced. _God, I hate this song with its really annoying tune._

"You can't hate this song. It's the catchiest song ever!" Her brows furrowed and she turned her face away from the road and towards her. "Come on. You know the words. I know you do." She nodded.

The brunette meanwhile started to hyperventilate. "Uhh, you should really watch the road Chlo." She boomed and Chloe's eyes only got wider as she stuck out a pout.

"Pretty please with cherries on top?" It should have been the fact that she wasn't looking at the road but no. It was that puppy dog face that made Beca break into the song with her.

"So I put my hands up; they're playing my song; the butterflies fly away!" She shook her head smiling and starts singing while Chloe returned her attention to the road and turned a corner.

By the end of the song, which both girls were singing happily, they pulled the car into a driveway in front of a fancy French restaurant; just two cars behind Aubrey's black Mercedes. "So we'll just wait till they come out. If they kiss, I'll believe it was a date." Chloe nodded and pushed the seat lever down causing her seat to fall back slightly.

"Umhmm I want to walk in there and literally go Evil Grinch on Aubrey and Jesse," Beca grinned and laid her head against the head-rest.

"Hey! Let them have fun. It's glad to see Aubrey loosen up a little especially since what happened last year." The ginger shuddered.

"What happened last year?" The short girl questioned. She got the gist but she never asked what really did happen.

"Aubrey had made a rule that we'll all sing songs of the 80s and she and her partner somehow qualified to the finals." Chloe flipped in her seat to face the brunette as she explained. "So in the finals, they were singing Ace of Base 'The Sign'- yeah I know" The ginger added, catching the look on Beca's face. "And she sort of puked in in the pre-chorus. All over the third row." She said, scrunching up her nose.

"Wow I kinda feel sorry for her. No wonder she's so stuck up now." The short girl shook her head.

"Hey! Don't be mean!" Chloe gasped and smacked her arm playfully.

"You do remember she called me a bitch when we first met, right?" She snickered and tilted her head in Chloe's direction.

"Like I said, she doesn't understand you like I do." The taller girl shrugged and stared at her firmly.

Beca swallowed hard but kept her gaze steady. She had to ask. "W-What do you mean?" She coughed trying to shake away the uneasiness in her voice.

Chloe didn't bat an eye. "You think the world is a bad place and you keep up these walls so you won't get hurt by people. You use sarcasm as your weapon and it's effective but it's also very lonely." She said bluntly.

The brunette stared at her in silence for a long time. She wanted to tell her she was wrong but she couldn't find her words. Because she knew the ginger was right. "How is it so effective, if it didn't work on you?" The words escaped her in hushed cracked murmur.

Chloe nibbled her lower lip slightly then extended her hand and hooked her fingers in the lower locks of Beca's loose hanging hair. She twisted them around her fingers and focused her eyes on them. "Your act only works on a willing audience." She merely shrugged and stated.

The brunette looked down at her hands and felt a sudden lump in her throat. She coughed and pried her eyes away from them. "What do you mean?" She whispered.

"I mean, I can see you for who you really are, Beca." Chloe lifted her head up and looked at her. Her blue eyes penetratingly staring. "You're not just some alt girl with an attitude problem. You're someone who is scared to love even when she has so much love to give."

_Okay I can't handle this. _Beca shook her head and inched away, her hair slipping out of Chloe's fingers like silk.

"So you like to read a lot don't you? Everytime we meet up in the quad you have a book." Beca grinned, trying to mask away her real feelings once again. She was not ready to deal with being hit so hard in the face by truth. Especially not by Chloe. She was not ready to deal with the fact that Chloe Beale was crawling underneath her skin.

The ginger half-bit her lower lip the same way she did every time Beca changed the subject then put on her signature, cheery smile. "Books are my favourite thing ever!"

"Uhuh." The short girl grimaced and Chloe gasped. "What do you, not like books or something?"

"Err, they're agonizingly long. I'd rather read the Cliff notes on them." She shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest.

"OH MY GOD BECA! HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE BOOKS!?" Chloe shrieked and jumped upright in her seat.

"It's amazing how you and Jesse pretty much think the world will end if you don't like books or movies." She smirked.

"Charles Dickens and Fitzgerald are all writhing around in their graves at the moment! And Harper Lee would die from a heart attack if she heard you right now!" Chloe clutched her chest dramatically and fell back on her seat.

"Reading one book requires a lot of time. I would rather use that time to make a bunch of mixes." She shrugged. "Probably the reason I'm so unappealing." She winked and flipped her hair.

"Yup, that's the reason." Chloe nodded excessively then shook her head laughing.

"So charming." Beca grinned. She liked the fact that the ginger did not turn this into a cheesy flirtatious line. That was the thing with Chloe, she had a way of charming you without being charming at all.

"Not liking books makes you like the present Aerosmith on the attractiveness scale." Chloe narrowed her eyes and stuck out her tongue playfully.

"Ouch!" The brunette gasped dramatically and they both erupted into fit of laughter.

"Oh here they come!" Beca pointed at the giggling figure of Aubrey Posen coming out of the restaurant and leaning into Jesse's chest.

"Duck!" Chloe yelped and they lowered down into their seats. They peeked their heads up slightly and watched the oblivious Jesse and Aubrey make their way towards their own car. Just before Aubrey opened her car door, Jesse turned her around and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Together, Chloe and Beca sat upright in their seat and began to exclaim as the series of events followed. "Oh." Aubrey wrapped her arms around Jesse's neck. "My." Jesse lowered his head and Aubrey closed her eyes. "GOD!" Their lips met.

They broke apart and severed around to face their car.

"CHLOE!?" Aubrey shrieked.

"BECA!?" Jesse gasped.

"Oh shit." The two girls turned their faces towards each other and groaned in union.

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**AN: Don't forget to review guys. Thanks :) Next chapter is going to be up day after tomorrow :)**


	7. All Of Me

**AN: Thank you for such lovely reviews :) I'm really glad you guys like the story. It's awesome :) As far as the "no instant bechloe" is concerned, like I said, I'm a pessimist. Love at first sight doesn't happen.**

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**""""IMP NOTE!"""""**

**For this chapter the song is All of Me by John Legend but you should listen to the Kina Grannis cover version of that song when you get to that part. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT YOU PLAY THIS SONG BECAUSE THE FEELS OK? Ok (Youtube link for the song, www youtube com/watch?v=Q6m-9Y4ON8w Put the dots instead of the spaces). **

**Oh and there is a mashup mentioned in this too but it's not essential to play it. In case you still want to, it's called "Toxic in the Deep Bumper's mashup" youtube link is (www youtube com/watch?v=fKyb3UXLXJg) you know the drill. **

**Alrighty then, enjoy :)**

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"It's been a week. Aubrey hasn't said a single word to me." Chloe Beale sighed as she laid back against the grassy quad and pushed back her thick rimmed glasses while she read her copy of 'To Kill A Mockingbird'.

A week earlier, Beca and Chloe had staked out Aubrey and Jesse's date but got caught. However, the pair had refused to acknowledge this incident, as they drove off right after the confrontation. After that, Beca had not been able to get in touch with (_confront the shit out of) _Jesse because he was visiting his sick grandmother and Aubrey acted like nothing had happened. She turned the other way whenever she saw Beca and she would completely ignore the topic if Chloe brought it up.

"Neither has Jesse. I was expecting some Hitler type torture when they caught us." The short brunette lay flat on her stomach next to the redhead and was tapping away at her laptop, her bulky headphones covering her right ear but exposing the left one.

"Do you think we should apologize to them?" Chloe lowered her book and squinted at Beca.

"Nahhh, they'll come around." The dark-eyed girl shrugged and lowered her headphones down to her neck.

"Yeah but the sooner she gets this over with, the better. Wouldn't want to re-live last year's build up." The ginger scrunched up her nose then flipped onto her stomach and stared at Beca's laptop screen.

"What's this?" She looked at the screen with interest.

"Um." For Beca, it was rare somebody would take an interest in what she was doing and ever rarer that she would show her mixes to other people but Chloe's face was all lit up with awe and excitement. _How do you say no to that? _"This is my latest arrangement."

"Ooooh! You never told me you were a DJ!?" Chloe exclaimed.

"Er, that's because I'm not." She shook her head and tilted her face towards the redhead slightly. "I hope to be though. Someday."

"Do you mind if I listen to one of your tracks?" Chloe looked at her pleadingly. Nobody, literally nobody, not even her father ever asked her this question when he found about her track mixing. She'd always planned on keeping this hushed up until she got to LA but that was mostly because no one cared.

"Um," Beca pulled her headphones over her head and handed them to Chloe. "You'll be the first so be kind."

There was a hint of surprise on Chloe's face after hearing that but then it was washed over with gratitude. "I feel a whole lot special now." She giggled and plopped the headphones over her ears.

Beca could feel her cheeks burning. She pushed the play button for her 'Toxic by Britney Spears' and 'Rolling in the Deep by Adele' mashup and rolled onto her side, trying to note Chloe's reaction, hesitantly.

Nothing. All blank. She chose this moment to pull a poker face.

"Really? Of all the times you could have kept a vacant expression you're choosing right now?" Beca narrowed her eyes at her but Chloe didn't bat an eye. It wasn't until the mix was over that she took off her headphones and looked straight at Beca.

"I get it was bad but it wasn't that bad oh my god." The short brunette's mouth dropped open in horror. This was one of her best mixes and if the first person listening to it, didn't like it then what were the chances of her ever becoming a professional DJ in LA.

Chloe's lips curled into a brilliant smile and she shook her head. "No, Becs. This is amazing. After hearing you sing, I didn't think anything could top that! You're like a mix David Guetta and Avicii." She beamed and poked Beca's nose. "After you become a famous DJ, I demand acknowledgement for being your first listener ever."

Beca could feel the colour rushing into her cheeks and she grinned goofily. "If. If I become a famous DJ." She shrugged and Chloe gasped.

"You're kidding me, right? Once people hear your mixes, they'll fall head over heels in love with you!" She exclaimed causing the brunette to burst out laughing.

"Ok ok enough. I still need to figure out a way to get to LA." Beca shook her head, laughing.

"If we win the STD and we're good enough, we might get a record deal. Then we can go to LA." She smiled and began scrolling through Beca's laptop.

She'd never really given any thought to the approaching riff off. Sure, she and Chloe would match pitch and Aubrey would kill them with her dance choreographies but neither of them had even sung an entire song together let alone prepare for the coming competition. If this could be her shot at LA, she might actually get serious about this.

"Who's that?" Chloe's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She plopped on her elbows and looked at the picture on her laptop the ginger was pointing at.

"Oh." She said pointedly, feeling a choking lump come up. "That's my mother." She was always uncomfortable when her mother was brought up into a conversation. She barely knew her before she left the world. Left her. The picture Chloe was pointing at was the one where her mother was wearing a white night gown and hugging her from behind. She was around ten then and one of her front teeth was missing. She remembered, a girl had knocked it out in a fist fight and she came home crying but her mother had said something to her that made the tears rush away. This was the first time she recalled herself crying. The last time she really, truly and painfully cried was at her mother's funeral. Ever since then, she kept her emotions bottled up somewhere.

"She's so beautiful." Chloe smiled and tilted her face towards Beca. "You look just like her…well now at least because uhm in this picture? Dental alert!" She laughed while the brunette merely twitched her lips. Her eyes were fixated upon her mother's happy face.

"Hey." The ginger said softly as she instantly grasped Beca's discomfort. She placed her hand on her shoulder. "You alright?"

Maybe it was the softness of her voice or the smiling face of her mother but something snapped deep down in her. Her eyes started to feel heavy and a sharp painful lump built up in her throat. Before she realized what was happening, a large tear drop slid down her cheek and splashed against the grass.

"Beca!" Chloe sat up surprised and inched closer to the brunette. "Did I say something wrong? What happened?" She looked baffled.

The brunette shook her head trying to will the tears to stop but it was pointless. It was like someone had poked a hole in a water pipe and it was leaking through her eyes. "I miss her." The words painfully choked out of her.

Chloe's confused expression faded into solemn understanding. She shifted herself and moved behind Beca. Slowly, she hoisted her head and placed it in her lap. Beca didn't put up a struggle or hesitate, she simply let the warmth and homey smell of Chloe comfort her. The ginger ran her fingers through the brown locks and coaxed her. "It's okay to miss her."

She tried to wipe away the tears but they never stopped coming. Years of hurt was finally pushing out of her. "It's so unfair. I barely have memories with her…I can't…" She snuggled her face closer to the warmth of Chloe's stomach, disregarding every rule she had about touching. She cried and cried for possibly a longtime but Chloe never shifted. She kept on running her hands softly though her hair.

"Your story may not have such a happy beginning but it doesn't make you who you are. It is the rest of the story-who you choose to be." Chloe finally spoke once Beca's teary flow had slowed down.

A smile played across Beca's lips and she chuckled through her tears. "Which classic literary book did that come from?"

"These are the wise words of an old goat from Kung Fu Panda 2." The ginger grinned slightly.

"You and Jesse would get along just fine." Beca laughed, slowly starting to feel light-headed. She lifted her hands to wipe away the last of her tears but Chloe beat her to it. With one hand running smoothly through her hair, she used her other hand and ran it across her wet cheeks, wiping off the tear trails. This time there was no reflexive jerking back or internal screaming. It was comforting and almost natural. The brunette looked up at Chloe and smiled slowly. The redhead slowly traced the faint outline of Beca's jawbone with her finger and smiled back. For a second, there was a twitch in both their necks. A twitch which suggested they were about to move closer but then the voice of Aubrey Posen caused both of them to jerk away.

"I've been looking everywhere for you two!" She glared and charged towards them like a raging bull.

Beca yanked her head up and sat upright while Chloe pushed away and looked at Aubrey like a cold draught had just entered and settled over her. _What just happened? _The short girl was still dazed with the events that had taken place earlier. It was like a hangover, after a truckload of tequila, was hitting her.

Aubrey was so busy glaring that she didn't pay attention to the proximity of the two girls. "Get your butts moving. We have a group rehearsal today." With those words, she stomped off without as much as a second glance.

"Who spat in her cheeri-o's?" Beca grumbled and closed the lid of her laptop, standing up and dusting herself.

"Probably Darth Vader." Chloe grimaced and followed Beca's suit. Together, they headed into the Bella rehearsal room. The arrangement seemed a little different today. The piano was in the center of the room along with an array of guitars which rested in a neat rack.

They were going to sing today.

Chloe skipped her way forward and took her place next to Aubrey as the second leader of the group.

"Hey hey B-dawg," The sudden chocking grasp of Fat Amy's arm around Beca's neck almost threw her off balance.

"Can't. Breathe." She choked out and the heavy girl gave her head a ruffle before letting her go.

The brunette slowly rubbed her neck and narrowed her eyes at Fat Amy. "Somebody feels ghetto today."

"Oh you know, I'm just gettin' my groove on. Aubrey's been crushing me with her song practices. We've literally sung billions of songs and there isn't a single one she doesn't know by heart." She shook her head. "I don't know how that skinny bitch stores that many lyrics in her tiny head."

"Wow." The brunette's brows shot up and she nodded her head, impressed. Chloe and Beca hadn't even sung one song properly.

"Alright ladies, simmer down." Aubrey's voice caused them all to quieten and face her.

"Right so today we're doing the cardinal thing for our STD's. Singing along with music." She forced a smile and crossed her hands before her like an authoritative figure.

"So, which one of you knows how to play an instrument?" She spoke.

Chloe, Beca, Denise, Cynthia-Rose, Ashley and Fat-Amy raised their hands. Beca could play the piano but she wasn't exactly trained. She would learn a tutorial off of youtube and use it somewhere in her mixes.

"Ok so I suppose everyone has a partner that can play an instrument. That's good." Aubrey nodded. "And how many of you can sing while playing an instrument?"

All hands except Chloe's fell down.

Aubrey looked like she was about to shoot someone if they so much as breathed the same air she did. She took a couple of deep breaths before proceeding.

"Okay!" She spoke in an oddly cheery voice. "Chloe will demonstrate for us how it's done then."

The redhead's eyes widened as she saw the state of Aubrey and she quickly rushed to the center of the room. She grabbed a pink acoustic guitar off the rack and sat down on a stool.

Beca turned herself in Chloe's direction and stared at her. Over the course of their practice, Beca had no idea Chloe could play a guitar. And sure, they matched pitch, but she'd never heard the redhead sing properly.

Chloe closed her eyes and lowered her head as she strummed the guitar once, checking its tuning. She drew in a deep breath and shifted in her stool so she wasn't facing Aubrey but Beca. The rest of the group stood beside Beca so it didn't seem so out of place but those oceanic eyes were fully trained on her and the brunette felt an all too familiar shiver travel down the length of her spine.

"What would I do without your smart mouth?; Drawing me in, and you kicking me out; You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down."

The minute Chloe's lips parted and broke into a song, Beca felt her senses numb. All her attention was focused on the perfectly melodious song. The lyrics touched her from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. There was a certain truth to her voice which made the song so much more than it was.

She had never heard anything so raw and so beautiful in her entire life. Then Chloe hit pre-chorus.

"My head's under water; But I'm breathing fine; You're crazy and I'm out of my mind" The redhead slipped a smile which Beca reflexively returned.

_I have absolutely no idea what's happening to me. _The internal voice in her head contemplated and gave the 'just go with flow' sign.

Chloe's eyes had that same secretive look as they stared right at Beca making her feel like she was the only person in the entire room. "Cause all of me; Loves all of you; Love your curves and all your edges; All your perfect imperfections; Give your all to me; I'll give my all to you; You're my end and my beginning; Even when I lose I'm winning; 'Cause I give you all of me; And you give me all of you, ohoh"

The chorus earned a few sniffles from the other girls. Stacie, who was standing next to Beca wiped her eyes repeatedly. "Her voice and the song. Unf. I'd totally tap that." She lowered her head and whispered in Beca's ear. A sudden monster seemed to be clawing at the insides of the short brunette after hearing those words but she shrugged it away. She was too mesmerized by the song to care.

Chloe continued and acted like she was oblivious to anyone else's presence in the room except Beca's.

"How many times do I have to tell you; Even when you're crying you're beautiful too."

Beca smiled and closed her eyes, slightly shaking her head.

"The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood; You're my downfall, you're my muse; My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues; I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you."

At this point, there were silent tears coming out of Beca's eyes. The something that had snapped today was making her more and more emotional by the second. And if everyone else was not crying to themselves too, they would literally have figured out something was up between Beca and Chloe. But Chloe's voice was working like magic that erupted waterworks from everyone.

She hit the pre-chorus and the chorus again. Her bridge made Fat Amy fall down and sob a little too dramatically. And when she hit the last chorus, everyone burst into a teary round of applause which made Chloe grin sheepishly. Beca quickly wiped away her tears and went forth towards Chloe.

"And you think my voice is angelic." She grinned and nudged the redhead whose face was burning red.

"Oh stop it. It's just the effect of the John Legend song." She covered her face in happy embarrassment.

"You literally made everyone in the room cry. That's the Chloe effect." Beca laughed and grabbed Chloe's hands, gently pulling them away from her face. _Did I really just do that? _The brunette shook the thoughts away. This time, she didn't care. She was going to go with the flow.

Everyone, bustled towards Chloe to awe about her awesome voice. When Stacy came towards her and smiled seductively every other second, Beca slid in between them. "Hey Chlo, wanna jam tonight?" Beca eyed Stacy conspicuously while talking to Chloe. The redhead was a little surprised but she responded excitedly with a yes. The monster clawing inside of Beca was doing the talking. The minute Stacy walked off, not before shooting Beca a dirty look, did the brunette began to wonder why she said that but she didn't have a long time to ponder over this as Aubrey stepped forward and cleared her throat causing an instant silence to prevail throughout the room.

"Ok ladies, now that you've seen that beautiful performance by Chloe." She flashed a quick smile at her. "I expect you all to be ready with your music and your duet by tomorrow. Now off you go."

Everyone began to walk out of the room but Beca lingered around for Chloe. As the redhead made her way towards her, she was called back by Aubrey. "Chloe, I need to talk to you." Her expression told that the 'talk' was probably going to be a long one

Chloe looked at Beca apologetically and turned back to Aubrey and as the brunette began sauntering out the door, she felt a sudden pang in her stomach. For the first time, she wished she was with Chloe.

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**AN: Don't forget to review and follow if you want to be notified about the updates. :) And please favourite the story if you like it. Thank you so much. :) Next chapter will be a little later but it will be within this week, I promise. :)**


	8. Happy

**AN: Once again a giant thank you to all those who reviewed/followed/favourite this story. :) I'm sorry for not issuing the tissue box warning for that chapter. Whoopsie. **

**Also a massive apology for updating so late, I'm kinda busy shifting houses right now and I barely get time to write. Also the wifi will be off for a couple of days so I can't update even if I type it up. Anyhoo I made this chapter double the usual length as an apology so enjoy :)**

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"The white girl's back." The dull voice of her roommate was the first thing to greet her, the minute Beca opened the door to her dorm room. The Korean girl was sitting on her bed with two other girls from the same ethnicity. They were pouring over thick books of physics and now they all had their eyes trained on her, glaringly.

"Hello to you too, Kimmy Jin." Beca rolled her eyes and shrugged off her jacket, throwing it on the bed along with herself. There was a foolish smile plastered on her face as she fell back against her pillow and stared at the ceiling.

"What the hell is happening to me?" She laughed and lightly slapped her forehead with her hand. There was this feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something that felt like drinking hot chocolate during a snow storm or eating her mother's homemade cake; something that made her want to smile until it hurt too much; something that made her feel like a unicorn skipping on a rainbow. _Hold up. Unicorn Beca? Seriously? _Her own thoughts made her laugh out loud.

"Can you keep it down? Your laughter is a real inconvenience Beca. We're trying to study here." Kimmy Jin said blankly, snapping Beca out of her hopeless daze. The short brunette tilted her head in the direction of her Korean roommate and raised a single brow. "You know what Kimmy Jin? I'm in way too good a mood to let you or any of our racist biasness bring it down. If it bothers you so much then you can go ahead and show yourself out the door." She narrowed her eyes at the little eyed girl who looked taken aback.

"Let's just go." One of her friend's suggested and Kimmy Jin gave Beca daggering looks before walking out the door and slamming it shut behind her. Once she was out, the short brunette smiled and plopped into a sitting position on her bed. She ran her fingers through her autumn like hair, straightening them out and letting her thoughts muse about the new emotion she was feeling. It felt so much like this thing she felt when she was around her mother. _Was she feeling happy? _This emotion had become so foreign to her that she didn't even remember what it was supposed to feel like. Her mind replayed Chloe's voice mixing perfectly with the guitar and reducing her to tears. Someone who barely ever cried. With these new emotions consuming her, a brilliant idea for a mix popped into her head.

She bounced off the bed and darted into her desk chair, placing her headphones on her ears and eagerly taping away at her laptop with one hand while twisting the nobs of her mixer with the other.

Time flew by like seconds and by the time Beca was done, it was past seven. She had been at this for five hours but for the first time she was actually so proud of what she had done that she wanted the whole world to hear this masterpiece. God knows where she was getting this kind of ego boost but she had another perfect idea. She quickly transferred her new mix to a USB and tucked it away in her front jean pocket.

Grabbing her jacket from the mattress, she rushed out the door and paced out onto the quad. _It's around here somewhere, _she began walking along the south side and kept her eyes peeled for a small one story building with a Vinyl CD Poster hanging from the top. She had passed the building multiple times. It was the local university radio station for Barden. She had thought of applying their once but opted for the paid job of kitchen staff instead.

Taking a left hook, she finally saw the radio station. That's when she felt nervous jitters. This was the first time anyone other than Chloe would hear her music. _You can do this Becs. _The voice of Chloe was suddenly filling her head. _Oh my God, I have to think in her voice too? _She shook her head and drew in a couple of sharp breaths while jogging on her feet. "In and out, in and out." She mumbled and nodded to herself.

She bustled through the glass door and took in the smell of old wood and vinyl records. She almost felt at home. Washed with new confidence, she strutted towards the radio booth. An attractive guy with sandy locks and ears covered by bulky headphones, was following her movement with his eyes. When she was outside the booth, the guy removed his headphones, pushed off his chair and walked up to her. "What can I do you for?" He smirked and looked her over.

Beca's eyebrow reflexively shot up and she held the USB before him. "I have a submission." She said.

"Er, that's smashing," He grinned grasping the USB, his voice was heavily accented. "So what do I get in return for putting this on the pile?"

_Why is it that every boy who has a British accent and a six pack thinks he can get with any girl? _She grimaced and shook her head. "Some good music to play, finally." She rolled her eyes and smiled sarcastically at him, before sauntering away. Clearly, he had never been rejected before because when Beca caught his face in the glint of the glass door, she saw a half-open mouth and a confused expression.

She saw the darkening sky as soon as she was outside and her brows furrowed. _Where was Chloe? _They were supposed to be hanging out right now. She whipped out her cell-phone from her pocket and scrolled through her contacts until the blue bar was on the name "Chloe" with squiggly hearts on both side. A smile curved her lips as she remembered when they had exchanged numbers and Chloe had taken her phone to draw hearts around her name. She had even gone as far as listing herself as an emergency contact for her.

Beca clicked on her name and typed in a quick message.

**"Chlo, where are you?"**

A couple of minutes passed but no reply which was unlike Chloe. Even when she was in class her reply was instantaneous. The brunette frowned and stuffed her hands in her jacket pocket as she slowly started to walk along the pavement. _Aubrey's probably grilling her. _She thought. The look on Aubrey's face, when she had called Chloe back, seemed pretty serious. _Maybe I should go check it out. _She debated for a minute and decided she would just take a peek in the rehearsal room, just to make sure Chloe had not been murdered and buried by Aubrey.

She began humming to herself as she skipped around the brick building and looked at the passing signs. Stopping short before the "Bella's Room" sign, she pushed the double doors open, slightly. However, before she could peek her head in, she heard loud voices.

"CHLOE CALM DOWN!" Aubrey screeched and Beca's eyes widened. _When was Chloe not calm? _The brunette flexed her neck muscles and leaned forward as she peered through the parted slit of the double doors. What she saw was the strangest thing she had ever witnessed. Chloe looked _angry_ almost like she could kill somebody. She held her hands against her waist and glared at Aubrey whose back was turned towards Beca. Beca couldn't see Aubrey's expression but if she were Aubrey, she'd be scared out of her shorts! A cold chill ran down her spine as she saw those blues glaring menacingly.

"Don't you tell me to calm down! How dare you? HOW COULD YOU EVEN SAY SUCH A THING?!" Chloe inched threateningly close to the blonde who backed away slowly

"Look I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this" Aubrey tried to retaliate. "You just met her! I'd rather lose than have her telling the other girls about Jesse and me."

_Of course she's taking about me. _Beca rolled her eyes catching the main story of their conversation. Aubrey didn't even have to mention her name

"Aubrey, you know Beca would never do such a thing." Chloe's face faded into the same painful sad look she gave Beca to force her into auditioning.

_Bingo. _Beca nodded at the mention of her name.

"Chloe why are you so hung up over her!? So what if we kick her out? She acts like she doesn't want it anyway." Aubrey crossed her arms tightly over her chest and averted her gaze from the ginger.

Earlier it would have been true, but now Beca was actually trying. She had been practicing day in and day out because a part of her really wanted this not just for LA but for herself.

"That's not true! She's been working real hard for this." Chloe groaned. Her face had started to reduce back to normal.

"My decision is final. Tell her to hand over her scarf tomorrow." The blonde said firmly, noting that Chloe's anger was fading, trying to re-establish her authority.

"Ok then," Chloe smiled and slowly walked over to Aubrey. She fished in her pocket and pulled out the disgustingly yellow Bella scarf. "If she goes. I go." She dropped it in front of her feet and began walking towards the back door that ended into the main hall rather than the quad where Beca was standing.

Both, the blonde and brunette felt their jaws drop down. "Chloe…wait!" Aubrey struggled to find her voice. "We've been best friends for so long you're going to throw all that away for someone like her? You don't even know her!" The tall yellow haired girl was petrified. She had never seen this side of Chloe before.

The red-head stopped in her tracks and turned around. "No Aubrey, YOU don't know her." She proclaimed.

Aubrey's face relaxed into vacancy. It's like she had realized something that was so obviously there the entire time. "You sound like you're in l-"

The slam of the door in the far end cut her short and drowned her voice so Beca could not make out a word of what she said. But they both could see, Chloe was gone.

Beca moved away from the opening and leaned back against the wall. "Shit." She said and her eyes widened in disbelief.

If her phone would not have vibrated in her pocket, she would have probably been glued to this spot for hours. Shaking out of the daze, Beca reached for her cell phone and clicked the message icon.

**"Just got free from Bree. Meet me at my dorm it's 564 Kennedy Hall :D"**

There was shock all over Beca's face. How does Chloe do that? How can she so easily mask her emotions? Her message sounded so normal that the brunette started to wonder if what she had just seen was real. She was still staring at the screen when another message popped up.

**"Fav pizza topping?"**

She tapped in a quick reply.

**"Be there in a bit. I like extra mozzarella with pepperoni and absolutely no olives."**

The ginger replied instantly.

**God we're so different! I love olives!**

**Opposites attract though ;) See you soon.**

**XoXo.**

Beca shook her head laughing and put her phone away. She stopped by her dorm first to pick up her laptop then headed towards the senior building. Kennedy Hall was pretty much the same shitty décor as Baker Hall except a couple of the doors were pasted with cuttings and name plates. The brunette ran her fingers along the mahogany and stared at the numbers. "562…563…Bingo!" She stopped short before Chloe's door which had cuttings of pink hearts and her name in glitter glue. It was like she was looking at a room of one of those teenage cheerleaders. _Oh I'm judging you SO hard right now, Chloe Beale. _Beca smirked and gave the door a slight rap.

The door was pulled open and the beaming face of Chloe looked down at her. "Hey Strawberry 'short' cake. Come in." The ginger pushed her giant spectacles back, giggling and moved aside to let Beca in. While the short girl raised a brow, "Hilarious." She rolled her eyes and walked inside. "Woah," the word escaped her instantaneously. She put her laptop bag down and moved around slowly. The outside of Chloe's room was so misleading. It was a completely different world inside. There was a small night lamp over her bedframe and blue L.E.D strips lining the right wall that cast her room in a beautiful bluish yellow glow. Beca walked closer to a large bookshelf that stood against the left wall and ran her fingers over the leather-backed covers.

"Why is your room so cool?" She gasped and looked at the double bed in the middle of the room. "Oh. My. DOUBLE BED!?" Beca fell forward on top of it and buried her face in the softness. "Itdjboft" She spoke against the sheet and Chloe doubled over with laughter. "What?"

"I said, it's so soft!" Beca lifted her head then let it fall back down. The ginger laughed and lay down beside her. "Once you become a senior like muwah and get your own room," she pointed at herself, "I'll decorate it for you."

"The inside at least. Not the door because the cuttings on it? Yeah um no." Beca snickered.

"Hey! Glitters and hearts are cool!" The ginger tried to frown but her features relaxed into an instant smile. "You always make me laugh." Chloe said, turning in Beca's direction.

Beca looked back at her and their eyes connected. "Yeah." She smiled genuinely. "You too."

"We'll see if you feel the same way after this revelation." She grimaced and sat upright. "We're both sort of out of the Bella's." She bit her lip and looked at Beca nervously.

"That sucks." The brunette coughed and looked away. Faking shock was not her strong suit.

Chloe immediately caught on. "How long were you outside?" She narrowed her eyes accusingly at her.

Beca gulped and crawled back against the bed sheet a little. "Er, just for a little while."

"EVERY SINGLE TIME!" Chloe said loudly and without warning tilt jumped on the bed and landed on top of Beca.

The brunette yelped and lowered her head further into the mattress. "I was worried Aubrey had killed you or something!" She said defensively and struggled to push Chloe off.

"Why can't you just walk up on me when I'm naked in the shower LIKE A NORMAL FRIGGING PERSON!? Geez Beca!" Chloe sat down on Beca's stomach and pinned her hands against the bed to keep her from struggling.

Beca's eyes widened and she gave Chloe a 'weirded out' look. "Ok dude, I don't know what's more weird. The fact that you want me to see you naked in the shower or that you think it's normal to see someone naked in the shower."

"Oh shush." Chloe removed her hands and crossed them over her chest. "So you saw the fight and yeah you know. Pfft." She huffed.

"I can't believe you quit the team for someone like me." Beca mumbled but Chloe got on to her words. Her face started to redden with adorable anger not like the one she had witnessed earlier.

"Ok don't become like Aubrey! I don't even know what you mean by someone like you. You're my friend and Chloe Beale sticks up for her friends" She huffed and her glasses slid down a little making her look so cute that Beca found herself grinning sheepishly. She saw Chloe was off-guard and quickly pushed her off. They ended up flipping positions with Beca landing on top of her. She leaned close and pinned the taller girl down by her body. Chloe eyes registered slight shock but it was quickly turned into amusement.

"You're kinda adorable when you third person yourself." Beca grinned.

"Is that so?" Chloe chuckled and played with her lower lip using her teeth. Her eyes unconsciously travelled to the short girl's lips.

Beca noticed Chloe's gaze and her breath caught in her throat. But, she couldn't move away. Even though she was the one on top, the brunette felt herself become transfixed with Chloe's eyes getting closer and closer and….

"Pizza delivery for Chloe Beale." The knock on the door caused Beca to jerk off her. "I'll get it." Chloe said breathlessly and plopped off the bed, pacing towards the door.

"Yeah." Beca scrubbed her cheeks with her hands trying to remove the red that was spreading. _Holy shit me! What the hell am I doing?_

"Thanks." Chloe grabbed the two large pizzas and pushed the door close with her foot. "So I got one with olives and one without olives."

"Those pizzas could feed an army." Beca chortled and grabbed a box from Chloe, lifting it open.

"You're kidding right? I could eat two of these and still have enough space for a dessert." Chloe saw down in front of Beca and closed her eyes, inhaling the smell of the freshly cooked pizza.

"Where the hell do you put all that?" The small girl cocked her brows and shook her head, amused.

"I work out." Chloe nodded and lifted up her tank top. "See?" Her rippling abs accented her stomach

"Uhuh." Beca stared at them momentarily and resisted the temptation to touch them. She reached forward but quickly lowered her hand to grab a pizza slice.

"So what are we going to do about the Bellas?" She looked up at Chloe who shrugged.

"Bree has too much ego. I don't know maybe she'll crack maybe she won't." She furrowed her brows and placed a hand on Beca's arm.

"Don't worry," she rubbed it slowly, "I'll still help you get to LA."

"Um yeah about that," the brown-eyed girl grinned and scratched the back of her neck nervously. "I may have hypothetically sort of maybe submitted a mix to our universities radio channel after rehearsals today."

"WHAT!? OH MY GOD BECS THAT'S BRILLIANT!" Chloe jumped up and down on the bed in excitement.

"Thanks." The brunette laughed and took a bite from her slice. They ate in silence for a while until Chloe spoke again.

"So tell me something about yourself that nobody knows?" Chloe leaned back against her hand and looked at the short girl.

"Hmmm like what?" Beca raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly.

"Like anything you wanted to share but couldn't?" Chloe grinned.

Beca thought for a moment and stuffed her mouth with a huge pizza bite so her words were slightly muffled. "I've always liked Miley Cyrus deep down somewhere."

"HA I KNEW IT!" The ginger yelped, apparently having caught on to Beca's words.

"I feel embarrassed," Beca laughed. "Ok now you go."

"I never tell people what I actually feel." She bit her lip slightly and averted her gaze. "I mean I'm not a depressed person or anything but I don't tell people the sad stuff that happens. Just the happy things."

Beca stared at her. _God why is she so…big? _ She had just experienced this a little while ago when Chloe had fought with Aubrey and made it seem like nothing happened when she was texting Beca. "So tell me now. You can trust me." Beca said quietly and placed her hand against Chloe's knee.

The ginger smiled sadly and nodded. "I know you are I just… ok when I was little my mum and dad, they had the perfect life, we were all the perfect family. Fishing trips, camping, family bonding; it was all there. My parents were faithful to each other but after a while the magic between them sort of fizzled out." Her voice thickened and Beca could see the increasing glisten in her eyes. "He always went to the Hamptons for some reason and my mom started drinking." She sighed. "Now we just keep up happy appearances for other people. I just…I hate going home to all that screaming and shouting. But I know one day they'll find that love again." A tear rolled out of her eye but Beca reached forward and wiped at it with her thumb.

When Beca's parents fought, she had ended up hating the entire world and hating love but Chloe…she's processing this in the complete opposite way. "Why would you still believe in love after all that bullshit?" She inched closer to Chloe and flung the empty pizza boxes into the bin.

"If you don't have love then what do you have?" Chloe adjusted herself so she was beside Beca and leaned her head on her shoulder.

"Yourself." The brunette said bluntly. "You never have to get hurt."

"Oh Beca, getting hurt is just a part of it, it means your love is humane." The blue eyed girl sighed. "If you don't love, you'll never feel any happiness either. Don't you want to be happy?"

"I-I do." Beca nodded slowly. She had forgotten what happiness felt like and now that she was experiencing it, she never wanted it to end.

"I know you do." Chloe nuzzled Beca's neck with the top of her head. "Maybe sometime in the future you'll get hurt by some person you once loved the most and it will hurt a lot."

"You can get to the good part anytime now." The short girl rolled her eyes.

"That is the good part. It means you can work on it. If you feel the pain then you can find a medicine for it. If you don't hurt at all then you never find the problem and by the time you do? You're too far gone" The ginger said solemnly while Beca processed the words. They stayed this way for some time until Beca spoke.

"You read too much for your own good, you know that?" She grinned and nudged her slightly.

"Oh hush!" Chloe giggled and pushed her playfully. "Books are awesome."

"Sure they are." Beca smirked and looked at the clock on Chloe's wall. _Holy crap it was almost midnight!? But it was just seven! _

"I better head off now, my roommate will throw a hissy fit I come back later that midnight. She doesn't want her sleep disturbed." The brunette jumped off the bed and reached forward to grab her laptop bag.

"Stay." The voice was low but extremely clear.

"What?" Beca stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned around, gaping at her.

"Stay." Chloe repeated a little louder this time.

"Chloe, I err-" Beca felt confused. She'd never had a sleepover with anyone before in her entire life. And this was Chloe, someone she felt weird tingly feelings around.

"Come on we'll cuddle and you won't have to worry about your roommate and besides," She grinned mischievously "My bed is softer than yours."

"Hmmm it is kinda super soft." Beca neared the bed.

"Yes it is." The redhead yanked her down on the bed with surprising force and Beca laughed as she slowly moved her way up to the pillows. Chloe scooted over beside her and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her into a tight hug from behind. "You smell like chocolate." She whispered against Beca's ear sending shockwaves through her body.

"And you smell like homemade cake." Beca smiled and whispered back.

"I bet you want to eat me." The ginger nuzzled her slightly.

"Sure. Make sexual innuendos while we're cuddling why don't you." The brunette shook her head and felt her eyes droop slightly. She felt so comfortable right now, letting Chloe's warmth fill her up.

"Umhmmm get used to it. G'night Becs" Chloe pecked her neck slightly.

"G'night Chlo." Beca smiled and let her eyelids fall down.

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**AN: Don't worry too much about the Bellas problem because pfft it's pretty obvious what's going to happen. Ok anyway next update will be after the 12****th**** because it'll take some time to get the wifi going. I'll try and make that a longer chapter too. Don't forget to review guys :)**


	9. Just A Dream

**AN: Sorry guys the wifi company messed up and I just got my wi-fi uplink today so yeah I'm so sorry for the late update. Thank you for those awesome reviews. You guys rule! **

**PS: I AM SO TERRIBLY SORRY FOR THE CODING MESS UP. God I feel so embarrassed I should have checked it out. I'm really really really sorry but I've corrected it now :)**

_Six years old Beca Mitchell sat huddled by the door of her room with her hands placed over her ears as she tried to block out the loud voices coming from downstairs, which grew louder and louder by the passing minute. She rocked herself back and forth steadily and pretended her parents were having a 'Who can shout the loudest' competition. She cheered them on, rooting for her mother and rooting for her father at the same time. And then it happened. Her father won by shouting two simple words. 'I'm leaving.' The scene evaporated in a cloud of black smoke. _

_Another scene appeared. Now, she was crouched on the top step of the stair-case and staring at the living room beneath, passively. Her eyes were glued to the front door, simply waiting. Waiting for the faded grey suit and black leather briefcase of her father to come but it never did. She sat there and watched in petrifying fear as her mother aged and she grew older. Her happiness started to fade and her mother began to disappear. _

_"NO!" A shrill voice escaped her lips. It was not her young version anymore but Beca herself. She tried to run downstairs and cling to vanishing figure of her mother but her feet began to sink through the tiled floor. A heart-wrenching, guttural sob escaped her lips as the frail figure of her mother dissolved into nothingness and there was nothing she could do to stop it. The floor beneath her crumbled and she found herself falling down into a black, dark void. Falling and screaming, falling and screaming…_

"Beca! Wake up!"

Her eyes popped open and she took in the light flooded room. She batted her eyelids rapidly a few times to adjust to the light and register her surroundings. She was covered all over in icy cold sweat, her breath was ragged and she was holding on to something tightly. No, she was holding on to someone. Her eyes shifted and she saw the sunlit red hair of Chloe cascading down and slightly brushing against her face. The ginger was leaning over the frightened state of her and lightly running her fingers along her jaw line.

"M-my mom s-sh-she va-" Beca tried to steady her trembling voice.

"I know. It was just a dream." The red-head interrupted with a kiss on the forehead.

She relished the softness of her lips against the matted hair on her head and nodded. "It was a shitty dream." She groaned.

"Just a dream." Chloe smiled and gave her cheek a slight pat before rolling away and sitting upright. She flexed her arms and Beca's gaze followed her. Chloe was wearing a light pink vest which hugged her toned shoulders muscles and highlighted her flexed arms. All of which sent shockwaves down Beca's spine. The ginger turned around and caught Beca gaping at her.

"Yeah." The brunette said in cracked sleepy voice, still staring at the soft skin of her arms around the lump of her bicep. "Do you always look this good when you wake up?" She blurted out and looked at her in awe.

"Yes." A devious grin played across Chloe's lips quickly followed by a chortle. "But I've been up for a couple of hours now, early morning jog." She stood up and immediately Beca found herself staring at her perfectly chiseled legs. "How long are you going to stare?" Chloe asked rather amused, causing the short girl to finally pry her eyes away.

"What time is it?" Beca mumbled, feeling rather sheepish.

"It's fifteen past seven." The ginger shook her head, chuckling to herself. "I got you breakfast." She piped in and pointed at the large coffee cup and pancakes on her desk. "Non-fat soy latte with one shot of cream and blueberry pancakes."

"But I take cappuccino with a lot of sugar!" Beca gasped while Chloe grabbed the breakfast tray and plopped it on top of the brunette's knees; a constant grin stretching her lips.

"You could use the non-fattening. You're welcome." The ginger nodded and poked her nose causing a pink shade to spread over Beca's cheeks.

"Thanks." She said. "Let me just pop in the restroom real quick. I'll be right back."

After a quick wash-up and ravishing the extremely delicious breakfast, Beca looked over at Chloe who was staring at her with a soft smile.

"What?" Beca said, starting to feel a little self-conscious. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and looked over her shirt for any signs of stains.

"Hmmm nothing." Chloe sighed and smiled brightly. "I like having you over for sleepovers."

"You've had me over for five days now." The short girl quirked her brows. The first night Beca had stayed over, Chloe began to insist for another sleepover on the next and then on the next night. The same thing happened every night until it was five sleepovers.

"Five more won't hurt." The ginger pouted and made a puppy dog face.

"Oh no no NO! I'm not falling for that face again!" Beca shook her head violently.

"Pwease?" Chloe pleaded.

"Kimmy Jin would probably think I died and throw out all of my stuff." The short girl sighed and rolled off the bed. She stood up and Chloe followed. "Besides I haven't studied a word in these five days and I have a big test for Trigonometry." Her hands reached for her pale blue jacket but Chloe grabbed it first.

"Pffft fine. I will never understand why you took Math in college." She slid each arm over Beca's shoulder and turned her around. The short girl did not show any resistance, she was used to this by now.

"I like Math. It's fun." Beca chuckled and zipped up the jacket.

"Sure." Chloe grimaced and shook her head. She handed Beca a pair of jeans from her drawer.

"What subjects do you have?" Beca narrowed her eyes and took the jeans gladly. Even though Chloe was taller than her, they were coincidentally the same waist size and almost all her shirts would fit Beca.

"English Literature and all sciences." The red-head shrugged.

"Sciences? Uhuh. And you're judging me for keeping Math." The short girl narrowed her eyes and smirked.

"Pffft fine." Chloe laughed. "By the way you're a minute late for your job." She pointed at the clock which was ablaze with the numbers '8:01'.

"Holy shit!" Beca squealed. "I'm so dead." She gasped and headed for the door before Chloe called her out. "Waiiittt!"

"Oh my God, Chloe! What?" She looked at the taller, grinning girl in horror.

"We're still on for the riff off tonight" Chloe asked, tugging at her bottom lip nervously.

"I have no idea why you want to go. It's not like we can sing. You're just going to torture yourself by watching them." Beca sighed and turned the door knob.

"I've never missed it since the first time I got here." Chloe shrugged and looked at Beca solemnly.

"Ok we'll go." The look on Chloe's face had been affecting her judgment a lot lately. "But right now I have to go, so I won't be served as the main meal in today's breakfast." The brunette nodded grimly and rushed out the door.

Once she got to the cafeteria, the kitchen head was looking at her like she had just killed someone. "I'll do weekends." Beca avoided looking at the lady and promptly yanked her apron over her head.

"Becaw!" The familiar voice of Jesse made her turn towards the serving area and look at his goofily grinning face.

"Jesse? Jesse Swanson?" She gasped dramatically. "Oh my God I can't believe it's you! How was the trip to the Stone Age?" She drew up next to him and began plopping trays on the counter.

"Stone Age?" He looked at her baffled.

"Yeah since you've clearly not been responding to my bajillion messages I figured the only logical explanation is you were time travelling to the Stone Age." She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah about that…um." He scratched the back of his neck and laughed nervously. "Bree told me not to. She said if I avoided you for a while the whole thing will settle down. You know the k-"

"Yeah I saw the smooch." She rolled her eyes, cutting him off. "Well 'Bree' sure knows how to handle her shit. First, she makes the stupid rule about no Treble-boning and then she dates you. And just because we catch her, she kicks me off the Bellas. I c-"

"Woah wait a minute!" Jesse's eyebrows shot up as he stared at her bemused. "She kicked you out? When? What? How? Huh? What?"

"Calm down. I'm over it." Beca shrugged and placed a hamburger on the tray. "I just feel bad for Chloe that's all."

"Why do you feel bad for Chloe?" He furrowed his brows questioningly.

"Well because she quit." She coughed. "Because of me."

"Oh okay." He grinned and covered his mouth with his hand.

Beca tilted her head slightly and caught this gesture. "What?"

"Huh. Nothing." He chuckled.

"Oh spit it out!" She huffed, feeling annoyed.

"Alright alright. I always figured you two were you know," he winked and joined his fingers on both hands, bringing them together occasionally in a kissing gesture. "But hey it's cool. I support you."

"Wait what?" She dropped the tray on the counter and turned to face him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well just stating the obvious. You and Chloe seem like um," he shrugged and faced her. "A couple."

"WHAT!?" She cracked loudly enough to earn a growl from the head chef. "Sorry." She said pointedly in her direction and turned to him again. "What?"

"Oh come on. The closeness, she quitting for you, you jumping up every time you hear her name." Jesse smirked. "You, my friend, have a serious, high-school, 'I doodle heart Chloe' crush on her." He patted her cheeks and ruffled her hair.

"Do that again and I'm going to cut off your hand and serve it as 'The Morning Special'," she said threateningly causing Jesse to yank back his hand and grimace. "I do not have a crush on her. This is the way all girls are with other girl…friends." She shrugged.

"Sure. Look there is Chloe carrying heart balloons and chocolates!" He said excitedly and pointed behind her.

"Really?" She exclaimed and turned around smiling. "Where?"

"Wow, this girl has changed you Beca Mitchel." Jesse laughed shaking his head and placed a juice carton on the counter.

"Ok that was a mean joke." She groaned. _Holy shit why did I just get so hyped up over balloons and candy? _She felt her mind ramble on and Jesse was no help in stopping it.

"You're probably wondering why you got so over-joyed by the idea of Chloe bringing balloons?"

_Yes. "_Pshht no." She swiped her hand and shook her head excessively. "I was uh just uh. Here's your tray." She placed the food tray in front of a student.

"Well you can either avoid it or take my 101 on how to deal with this." He grinned. "It's your call."

_No Beca. No. No Beca Mitchel stop righ- _"Ok so say hypothetically I like Chloe but how do I know I like _like _her?" She silenced the tiny shrieking person in her head.

"Well, 'hypothetically'," he chuckled, "you can just notice the way you act around the person or how they make you feel. Like for instance, is there odd tension between you two?" He looked at her questioningly.

_Yes. _"No." She shook her head.

"Does she make you feel all tingly and warm inside?" He continued with a growing smile.

_YES. _"Nope." She shook her head again.

"Do you feel like you have to do absolutely anything to make her happy?"

_OH GOD YES! _"Nu-uh."

"Is the answer to all these questions, yes?" He smirked.

"Yes." She admitted, feeling defeated.

"I know little one." He patted her shoulder. "You can lie to me but you cannot lie to the love master living within me. He senses your love aura." He said adding a theatrically bow.

"I have absolutely no idea why I'm friends with you." Beca rolled her eyes.

"So when are you going to tell her?" He asked, nudging her slightly with his shoulder.

"Tell her what?" She raised an eyebrow.

"That you want to have her babies!…In some weird medical technology advancement way." He rubbed his hands gleefully.

"Ok we're not friends anymore." She nodded.

"Pfft but seriously, when will you tell her you like her? He chuckled.

"I don't even know if she feels the same way. I ain't telling her nothing!" She exclaimed shaking her hands in front of her.

"Ok come on Becs this girl quit her five year gig for you. You don't do that for just a friend." He poked her nose.

"Best friend?" She smiled awkwardly.

"Look you'll have to own up to these feelings sooner or later. You can't bottle this up forever." He laughed and placed the last food tray on the counter.

"But I'm good at hiding emotions!" Beca untied her apron and lifted it above her head.

"You were good at that. Now you practically had your heart burst when I said Chloe came with balloons." He cracked up loudly and started putting food for himself in a tray.

"I really don't like you, you know that?" She growled and headed on to the back stations for their break.

"I love you too." He grinned and followed her. "So now tell me again why Aubrey kicked you off the Bellas?"

"She thought I was going to tell the other Bellas about your date." Beca shrugged and leaned against the cutlery cupboard, absently gazing outside the window.

"Really? Maybe I should talk to her…" He frowned and took a bite of his pancakes.

"No I'd rather you didn't. I don't want her thinking I forced you into this. She'll just end up hurting Chloe even more." She rolled her eyes as she thought of the fit Aubrey would throw.

"Hmmm hey where is your food tray? Don't you wanna have breakfast?" Jesse pursed his lips and looked at her innocently.

"I um already ate." She averted her gaze and cleared her throat.

"Pick up something on your way?" He smiled knowingly.

"No…Chloe gave me breakfast in bed." She sighed dreamily.

"I figured I just wanted you to say it. Love Guru senses it all," he laughed hysterically.

"Love Guru will get a smack on his head if he doesn't shut up." She spoke through gritted teeth causing an even greater uproar from Jesse. "Oi don't hate on Love Guru."

Their break ended soon but since the head chef stuck them with different duties, Beca didn't get to see much of Jesse afterwards. Her classes took place in the same dull, monotonous way where she day-dreamed most of the time about Chloe. As the shades of evening drew near, Beca stood outside the ginger's dorm dreading the thought of what was to come. She knew how emotional it would get for Chloe to see the Bellas perform and not be a part of it. If Aubrey wasn't Chloe's best friend, Beca would have punched her face in by now.

Knock. Knock.

She rapped the door lightly and half hoped Chloe wouldn't be there. But in a split second the door flung open and Beca felt herself being engulfed by warmth. Chloe squealed and wrapped her arms tighter around the short girl. "I'm so glad you're here. I could never do this without you."

"I know otherwise I wouldn't be here I would be having a large cheesy slice of pizza with a ginormous bottle of Jack Daniels." She groaned. "You can still change your mind you know."

"Becs…" Chloe whimpered slightly.

"Oh alright. Fine. Let's go to this thing and get it over with quick." The brunette rolled her eyes.

**AN: I'll try and post the next chapter by this week. Don't forget to review because they absolutely encourage me to stop being lazy and start writing and favourite/follow this story if you want to stay updated when I post new chapters. **


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